


Redemption

by kipli



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Light Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-03
Updated: 2012-06-03
Packaged: 2017-11-06 18:55:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/422067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kipli/pseuds/kipli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set just after the film. Loki is banished from Asgard and stripped of his powers as punishment for his actions against Midgard. However even if Stark accepts being Loki's steward, can he manage to keep him safe from the Chitauri?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redemption

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillabuzz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillabuzz/gifts).



“And what am I to do with you now, brother?” came Thor’s booming voice.

The rock of a man stood with arms crossed. His tone was firm and direct, with more than a hint of anger and frustration, but there was a softness that he never seemed able to let go of when speaking with his brother. He cared for him, of that Loki was certain. The only reason he was here - back in his old quarters in Asgard and delicately perched upon the edge of the bed – was because of Thor. If not for this man he would be dead or the very least at the ‘mercy’ of SHIELD.

However, he rather wished he were dead at this point. He knew neither Thor nor Odin would kill him. He knew it was unlikely they would torture or harm him. He was instead likely faced with imprisonment, with little means of escape, for the rest of his natural life which was quite long indeed. He was in no mood for a lecture from Thor or the man’s attempts at reaching him emotionally. Loki was mentally switched off. He was exhausted. He was deflated. He sat on the end of the bed with his legs folded in front of him staring at his hands in his lap, utterly oblivious to Thor as he went on and on about responsibility and trust, family and honor. He had no interest in discussing his reasons with Thor. He did not need to be lectured about the meaning of life from a man such as his so-called brother. Perhaps if Odin had come… but his ‘father’ had not seen him since his return. For the last week he has seen no one but Thor. Neither parent-that-would-call-him-son bothered to see him. The ostracization hurt more than he’d care to dwell on but truly what did he expect? This was not his home. These were not his people. The man prattling on was not his brother. He clenched his fists and let the anger and bitterness swell inside of him, focusing on it as a balm to his hurt pride.

“Do you even listen to me?” Thor demanded, picking his lean brother up off the bed by his shoulders.

Loki’s gaze was rather bored and uninterested as it met Thor’s eyes. “What do you want of me?”

Thor gave the man a shake and then tossed him back down onto the end of the bed. Loki merely bounced twice and collected himself. Thor bellowed at his nonplused brother, “I would have you speak! I would have you explain your heart and your mind. I would have you moved by what you have done and the pain you have inflicted not only on the people of Midgard but on your own honor and the honor of your _family_ -“

Loki interrupted with a snide but soft spoken, “I have no family.” Loki collected himself back into his previous position, folding his legs underneath himself as if he had not been manhandled by Thor.

“You are wrong. We do not disown you, not even now as you worked against us. You are and will forever be my brother. Nothing in all the realms will change this fact. I know you see slights from me and father but they are not as you imagine them to be.”

Loki’s gaze returned to his hands and he went quiet once more. He ignored Thor and his returning to the subject of family honor and ties. No words could change the fact that he was not Asgardian. He was not one of them. For this, and for so many reasons, he was not respected, not noticed, not treated as an equal. His bitterness swelled again but his inner musings were cut short as a few key words from Thor broke through to recognition. Loki’s gaze jerked up as Thor continued on with a firm, suddenly decided tone, “Banishment is the only way to attempt to teach you humility and humanity. I fear leaving you here would only push you further into despair and misery and I cannot see my _brother_ lost to such dark thoughts forever. Father has chosen me to see to your punishment and I will carry on his wisdom.”

The doors opened with a thunderous clap as two rows of guards marched within. Loki was instantly on his feet as the locked Tesseract was carried within his chambers. “Banishment?” he couldn’t help but wonder, his now wide eyes looking to Thor.

Thor gave a grim nod as the guards came to an abrupt stop to his sides. He stepped forward to stand face to face with his brother. He spoke in a softer tone for Loki’s ears only, “I learned much in my time as a mortal. You too will find your true path. I will not see you lock yourself away in your mind and grow mad over the years to come. I give you this chance, brother of mine. Redeem your honor. Reclaim your rightful Odinson name. Reform your heart and mind.”

Loki could only stare with wide eyes at Thor. Banishment? All this time Thor had wanted nothing but to take Loki back home and now he was to be banished? Whatever was the reason for… Then his thoughts leapt forward and he exclaimed, “You will strip me of my powers.” It was not a question.

Thor nodded all the same and reached to the Tesseract glowing blue beside them. “I give you one choice, brother. I will send you anywhere in all the realms but this one. Choose your fate wisely.”

Loki’s heart hammered in his chest. Banishment? Stripped of his abilities to protect himself? There was not a place in all the realms where he would be safe. The Chitauri were even now hunting him down for his failure. The Frost Giants would no more accept him than the Chitauri. Where could he possibly be safe but here locked away? He had not thought of this eventuality. He had not planned. He had not thought Thor or Odin so cruel. Do they not realize he will be hunted the moment he’s banished?

Thor’s look softened as he saw the flash of fear over his brother’s features. “You are still my brother, Loki. They may look for you but they will not harm you.” Then his tone turned hard as he added, “For long.”

So he would have some protection from afar? Still there were other unpleasantries to consider. Lodging. Food. Safety from those not Chitauri. He had no friends, certainly none off realm.

“Your choice, Loki, or I will make it for you,” Thor insisted. He placed a hand on the Tesseract and the other on Loki’s chest, waiting to enact the spell.

What realm was there but Midgard? Yet he could not hope to hide there from SHIELD or any other malicious entities. Thor’s watchful eye would make certain all would know where he was placed. They would come for him. So what if he went to them first? None of them could truly be trusted but he needed someone who would let him hide in peace. Well certainly he was not going to that big green behemoth. His muscles still ached from the pummeling. Romanoff and Barton would likely slit his throat the moment they glimpsed him. Rogers was the perfect little good soldier boy but if someone ordered him to hand Loki over he would do it in an instant. That would only leave... 

*

“Are you sure you can’t fly back tonight? There are some urgent matters for you to attend to.”

Pepper’s feminine snort was cute even over the loudspeaker system. “I’m sure you can attend to those _urgent matters_ with your right hand tonight, Tony. You’re a big boy, I know you can take care of yourself.”

Tony Stark shifted on his leather chair before his array of computer readouts floating just above the desk. “Ya, but the _big guy_ is gettin’ really tired of my sweaty palm.”

“So give him a date with your left hand instead? Listen you’re the one who made me CEO. I have responsibilities to take care of and you know it.” Her chiding tone took on something softer as she added, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re lucky you’re worth the wait,” Tony groaned.

“Am I now?” Pepper wondered, a slightly accusing tone in her voice before she hung up on him. He let out a long-suffering sigh and moved to stand, maybe order in some burgers and beers, when a loud thunderous clamor resounded through the Malibu house. He tensed as his gaze jerked up to the ceiling, though he was several floors down in his lab.

“Jarvis?” he wondered as his feet instantly took him toward the array of Iron Man suits.

The computer’s voice rang clear and calm, “An abnormally large lightning bolt seems to have struck the building. Rooftop sensors are currently overloaded.”

“Fantastic.” Tony stepped into the latest suit, metal quickly encasing his body. The moment the helmet enclosed his head, he flipped the visor down and blasted off the ground and up the flight ramp out of the house.

“Is this not a little extreme for home maintenance?” Jarvis wondered in his ear.

“Let’s hope that’s all it is.”

As soon as he was out of the house, he did a quick back flip, looping around and facing the roof. Nothing seemed wrong. No holes, no damage, nothing picked up on sensors. He came down for a smooth landing on the flat rooftop, thrusters turning off as he looked from left to right. He was beginning to feel a little foolish and jumpy. There’s no way any Asgardian would return to Earth, to his house, just a week after-

A groan sounded from behind him and he spun around, sensors on his readouts flashing red as body heat was detected and a glowing circle highlighted a slumped body on his roof. The dark hair was a dead giveaway, along with the form fitting green and black jacket. “Loki,” he snarled as he stepped toward the collapsed man. What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be under Thor’s care? Locked up forever in some atrocious animal hide-covered Viking prison? He stopped just before the downed man and roughly nudged him with his boot. There was an instant cry of pain as Loki rolled over onto his back, coughing and moaning, eyes closed and looking a fucking mess. There was something off about the man. He looked… paler, if that was possible.

“What are you doing here?” rang Tony’s voice through the helmet.

Loki could barely open his eyes to look up at him. It seemed to take all his strength. Tony’s hard features softened just a little at the vulnerable flash in Loki’s eyes. “I… I need… help.”

“Well that’s fucking obvious,” Tony snapped as he nudged the man again with his boot, “But why are you here? Where the hell is Thor?”

Loki made to answer him but whatever was ailing the bastard of a demigod overtook him and his eyes rolled back, swiftly passing out in front of Tony. Tony glared down at the unconscious man.

“Oh ya this is just what my day needed.”

*

He hurt. From head to toe his body ached from impact onto the solid rooftop but nothing compared to the throbbing in his left hand. He gave a rather pathetic little whine as he opened his eyes.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” came Tony Stark’s voice from his other side. His aching left side. Stark would not be so cruel as to torture him, would he? Loki’s gaze flashed to his left, blinded a moment at a bright light shining down on his outstretched left arm. His vision cleared to see something metallic encasing his lower arm down over his palm, opening like a fingerless glove to allow his digits to move freely.

“What have you done to me?” Loki snarled, fire in his eyes as he looked to Stark.

“Relax. You broke your wrist on impact with my house. A few weeks and you should be fine. Just don’t fiddle with the cast.” He slapped Loki’s right hand away from the metal encased cast. “The real question should be how a ‘god’-“ Stark brought his fingers up in an air quotes motion. “-broke his wrist when taking a means of travel he’s been accustomed to for what now? Centuries?”

Loki’s gaze fell away from the man, glancing down and to the side, long tendrils of dark hair falling forward to half cover his face. How was he to even begin? How could he appeal to Stark? He had had no time to plan, to think, to formulate as he would other situations. He hurt, in many more ways than one. His mind struggled to obey him and focus. Yet Stark had not taken him directly to the authorities or a medical facility. He was on a propped up bed or table of some description in a large room that was far too well lit for his throbbing head. Stark had seen to his wrist, hopefully. These were all very good signs. He must figure out how to build upon this initial reaction. He had to play upon sympathies. Yes.

Stark had enough of standing there, watching Loki try to pull off a battered puppy pose while remaining quiet. “See now the silent treatment? Doesn’t work on me. That gets you a one way trip to SHIELD.”

Those words frightened him more than he’d like to consider. He looked up from behind his bangs. “I have been stripped and tossed aside.”

Stark raised an eyebrow at the line, casting a long look down Loki’s lean form. “You look pretty clothed to me-“

“I have been banished and stripped of my powers,” he repeated less cryptically. A smug grin from Stark had Loki rushing on, afraid he might look _too_ vulnerable to his would-be protector. “Thor still watches over me; he thinks to teach me a lesson!”

“The clever little bastard,” Stark muttered to himself. Then his forehead knotted with concern as he wondered, “So he made you mortal and placed you _here_? Why?”

Loki’s expression flickered a moment but Stark couldn’t read him as he smoothly lied, “I do not know.”

Stark’s gaze stayed firmly on Loki as he took in the comment. Loki kept his straight face and slumped pose. He could not tell Stark he picked him because he had nowhere else half as welcoming. He could not tell Stark that he chose to be here. It was best that Thor somehow willed him to be here and let Stark think Thor wished him to look after Loki.

“I don’t like houseguests,” Stark finally stated, turning to clean up the tray of equipment he had used to see to Loki’s wrist.

“Says the man who has bedded how many women?” Loki couldn’t help but sneer at the ridiculous comment from Stark.

“See but you’re not sleeping in my bed and they’re always gone by breakfast.” Stark cast a teasing, leering glance back at him. “However if you want the one-night treatment I could deal. The long hair is a nice touch but you’ll need a shower and something slinky-“

Loki abruptly sat upright, cradling his injured hand against his chest, as he struggled to stop the irritating blush that crept across his features. He kept his head down as he snapped, “I do not appreciate your ridiculous jokes.”

“Whatever you say, Snow White, but I’m not running a bed and breakfast for would-be world conquerors.” Stark’s tone turned dark and heated, “Or take pity on a weakened pathetic little man who killed my friend.” He clearly alluded to Phil Coulson and Loki’s stomach dropped. “You can go give blowjobs on Hollywood Blvd and sleep in a fucking box for all I care.”

He had spoken wrong. He should have stroked Stark’s ego more. He should have groveled more. He rushed to change the man’s mind. “Yet you do not turn me over to SHIELD. You saw to my hand.” He looked up to meet Stark’s firm gaze. “Please. They would find me. If not SHIELD then something far worse. I would be but a defenseless man left to the fate of those who claimed me.” Stark set his jaw but Loki continued on, softly pleading, “I am here to earn my second chance. Does that not mean anything to a man given his own second chance at life?” He nodded to the glow of the arc in Stark’s chest. “Forgiveness is not something I request, Mister Stark, only asylum. I do not know why my brother placed me here but I can hazard a guess it is because of your clear mind and ability to reason out situations. You are a man who keeps his word and does what is right. You are a man who has redeemed himself, no? I do see my brother’s wisdom in leaving me in your care.”

Stark took him in a long moment, arms folded across his chest. The longer it took, the more hope Loki formed. Perhaps he had swayed things. Perhaps he would let him stay. For where else would he go? This was his only option. Stark had to see this.

“Fuck that is a talented mouth you have there.” Loki’s growing optimistic smile faded as Stark went on, “I liked you better with the muzzle.”

*

“You cannot make me leave!” Loki shouted over the intercom into Tony’s property, holding his left arm against his chest with his right hand. The light was fading and a glorious sunset was to Tony’s back but he could still see the form of the ex-god unceremoniously tossed out of Tony’s house.

“No but the cops can make you leave.”

“You would not dare!” Loki sneered.

He kind of liked how worked up Loki was getting. For once the man was reacting honestly, not spinning pretty little lies. Loki was nice and frightened enough to speak without thinking. “Maybe Thor’s big plan was for you to spend a few nights in jail for trespassing. You would be the most _popular_ guy in the joint.”

“Would you _please_ stop thinking about my ass for two minutes and let me back in!” Loki snarled. There was a thud over the intercom, which was quickly followed by a rather cute little cry as Loki kicked the wall of the intercom panel and only ended up hurting his foot in the process. The man’s form slumped over in pain.

“No can do, sweet cheeks. You’re stuck out there in the big bad world. Deal with it.” Tony turned away from the security camera image and walked across his living room to pour himself a drink.

“Sir, his heart rate and respiration are at dangerous levels,” came Jarvis’ clear voice.

“Good,” he growled as he looked out at the sunset over the Pacific and downed his shot of scotch. His gaze slid down to the glass in his hand and added, “Let me know if he passes out again.”

“Cardiac arrest seems far more likely at this juncture.”

Tony only grunted at the comment and turned back to the slumped form of Loki on his doorstep. “You have five minutes to get off my property. Find yourself a box. Find yourself a pimp. I don’t care where you go. I’m not your fucking babysitter. Why don’t you go cry on Clint’s shoulder? He’d enjoy seeing you again.”

The readout of Loki’s life signs spiked at the comment and it gave Tony far too much perverse pleasure to see the man react to the thought of meeting Clint again. Good. The poor bastard was probably still recovering from being Loki’s mindless little bitch.

“You cannot leave me out here,” Loki pleaded, breathless and clearly shaken.

“Oh but I can. Your five minutes starts now, Little Riding Hood. Get a move on.” He reached to turn off the intercom. He watched from the security camera as the blue light of the intercom switched off and Loki crumbled into a ball just beneath it.

A timer came up on screen and began ticking down for him. Jarvis did have a way of knowing when he wasn’t bluffing. Two minutes ticked by and Loki hadn’t stirred. Tony turned to fill his glass again. “How about we get him moving, Jarvis?”

The far off sound of police vehicles resounded outside of Tony’s house. Loki’s readouts spiked as he leapt up and took off North, away from the sound of sirens. A map on the screen tracked Loki as he left the cameras view. Loki’s cast wasn’t all just cloth and metal casing.

“Good boy,” Tony muttered at the security shot of Loki disappearing into the coming night. He swiped the floating readout away. It disappeared as he headed back downstairs into his lab. “Keep an eye on him, Jarvis.”

*

He had made a grave mistake. Perhaps he should have requested to be placed in Jane’s care. Thor would not have allowed a single thing to happen to her. She would have cared somewhat for Thor’s brother, would she not? Why had he chosen Stark? Why had Stark not listened to his pleas? The man was a confusing mix of signals and comments. No wonder not even SHIELD trusted him. He was not balanced. The only solace Loki had was not being instantly handed to SHIELD but it was merely a matter of time before someone found him so it was a cold comfort indeed.

The night was settling in. Loki had not gone far, perhaps a half mile at the most, just enough distance to elude any officers Stark may have called on him. He told himself that he stayed close because perhaps in the morning Stark would let him in, yet he likely could not have gone further if he had wanted to leave Stark’s home behind. His muscles ached. His head hurt. His hand throbbed. His heart hammered with fear and uncertainty. He was close to collapse when he hid down an alley in a strip mall and slumped to the dirty ground beside a pile of wooden crates, having just enough dignity left not to collapse beside the dumpster he’d passed by first.

It was long minutes before his breathing and heart rate settled into something remotely reasonable. His panic shifted into quiet, cold fear as he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. Clouds covered the stars but he still cried out in a snarl, “Who knew you were so unreasonably cruel, dearest brother!” He waited but no response came. He thumped his head back against the brick wall but instantly regretted it as his headache intensified. “Fuck,” he swore and curled his legs up against his chest. His long leather jacket made for decent wear but with his heart rate down and stress filling his body a deep chill crept through him. He shivered in the silence of the alley but did not move from his spot.

His mind raced in so many circles. There was no way out. There was no way to escape. His only option was to find SHIELD and take the lesser of two evils, yet he wasn’t certain SHIELD could keep him safe from the Chitauri. He would not submit to their poking and prodding only to be captured thereafter by something even worse. Stark was supposed to perhaps be indifferent, perhaps see his need and his brother’s attempt to reform him. How was he to proceed now? A dark thought crept up on him but he tossed that one aside. He was not ready to utterly give up and he knew Thor would likely stop him from suicide attempts even if he felt the urge to try.

All he could do was wait here until morning. He would beg at Stark’s door. He would practice groveling and he would plead his case. He had no other hope. Yet it seemed so futile. Stark did not care for him.

The last thought resounded through him and he slid down onto his side, curling up into a ball and letting everything of the last few weeks overtake him. He cried. He mourned the loss of his identity. He mourned the loss of his family. He mourned his failed victory. He mourned his lost destiny. There was nothing left for him, there was nothing left of him. Who was he? A gnat to be squashed by whoever came to find him here first, and perhaps he deserved to be squashed.

His tears came over him in such a rush that he did not feel the rain at first. He was lost in his mind and his self-pity and bitterness at the world. Only as the rain soaked his hair and slid down his neck underneath the collar of his jacket did he realize his situation. It was rather perfect. When but now would it rain in Los Angeles? Perhaps Thor sent it to mock him and his tears. He snarled at the thought and looked about himself. He ignored the dumpster once more and instead burrowed his way underneath the wooden boxes beside him. It smelled atrocious and was not entirely dry or waterproof but it was the best he could manage. He had no strength or heart to look for proper shelter. The rain lightly pattered against the wood above him and his fatigue overtook him once more. He slept in the cold and the wet. His dreams were filled of childhood memories. Frigga looking after him late at night when he had dark dreams as a child. Thor chasing imaginary Frost Giants with him. Their friends laughing as Loki fell and hurt himself but Thor stooping to pick him up and carry him gently to Odin for healing. They were warm and happy memories. He belonged. He knew his fate and himself. He had been safe. He had thought himself loved, at the time.

It was still dark when he woke but the rain had ceased. He groaned and shifted beneath his uncomfortable cover of boxes and the hard dirty cement bed. If only he could drift and sleep forever in those memories, even if the love within them wasn’t real any longer. He pulled himself out from under the crates; a clamor resounded as some rolled off and hit the ground. He shook himself and stood up on unsteady, shaky footing. He was chilled to his core and exhausted. He was too stressed to feel the hunger pains that gnawed at him. He brushed back his messy hair and made a disgusted sound as he found some dirt and muck in his hair. He cleaned it out as best he could and turned to find his place beside the wall again without the boxes atop him. All he could do was wait.

A figure sat on the edge of the dumpster at the entrance to the alley. Loki’s heart dropped but he kept his features calm. Should he ignore them or greet them? He turned to sit with his back to the wall and looked to see the figure still perched upon the dumpster. “I am no threat,” he said as calmly as he could, pretending to relax against the wall but truly searching for something that would protect him. Yet what strength did he have to fight someone off? What if they were not mere mortal or man?

The figure slid off the dumpster and with deliberate footsteps approached Loki. A man’s voice pierced the crisp air but Loki did not recognize it. “I haven’t seen you before.”

Loki rushed to speak, looking up at the figure as it approached. “Yes, well, I won’t be here past tonight so if this is your alley or some such claim I do not wish to have ownership of it.”

The man snorted and chuckled a humorless laugh. “Ain’t my alley.” He stalked his way up to Loki and paused at his side. The smell of liquor came from the man and Loki had a moment’s hope. He was a mere mortal. He could perhaps defend himself against such a man. “That’s a nice jacket.”

“Indeed but it is mine-“ Loki began, meaning to spring up and knock the man over, but he was too slow. The drunkard swiftly kicked him in the ribs and knocked him over with a hard hit to the shoulder.

“Get off!” Loki yelped and kicked at the man, driving a boot up into the man’s stomach and knocking him off. Loki struggled to get up onto his knees. His body was all aches and pains and his strength was gone many hours ago yet he was not about to let this bum take his coat.

The man lunged at him as soon as Loki got to his feet, knocking them both down onto the cement with a hard thwack of Loki’s cast against the ground. He saw stars. The painful jolt was unexpected but his wrist did not approve of the hit to solid cement. He could barely breathe as the stranger ripped at him to get his coat off. No he would not dare stand for this. He willed his body to move, kicking the man off him once more. He was no mere mortal; he could defend himself against a drunk idiot bum!

The snick of a switchblade sounded and he felt the cool steel of the blade against his throat as the stranger glared down at him. “Hold still.”

He froze as the man ripped his coat off his shoulders and roughly past his cast, ripping the leather some but not seeming to care. Beaten by a bum. He was defeated by a drunk mortal bum.

The man pulled back in a leap and removed the blade from Loki’s throat, sliding on _his_ jacket and turning to leave back out the alleyway. 

No. This was the final straw. He would not accept this fate! He shifted up and reached for a wooden crate, rushing the man and making to bash him over the head with it. He missed and hit his shoulder as the man dodged and spun around to face him. The knife darted forward but he repelled it with his metal covered wrist, bashing the crate into the man’s side so hard the old rotting wood splintered and broke. Then he was left with nothing in his hands.

“Maybe I’ll take everythin’ you got!” the drunk sneered and leapt forward again, knocking Loki down and driving the knife toward Loki’s throat.

A blast of light erupted in the air and knocked the man off him, straight back into the side of the dumpster, denting it in before slumping down unconscious.

“When a drunk with a knife wants your stuff, you let him keep your stuff, Lois.”

Loki jerked his gaze back to see Stark in his suit just behind him, his visor up and looking far too amused at Loki’s state. He gasped up at Stark, “It’s my jacket. Not his.” 

Stark snorted a laugh and walked over to check on the drunk. He gave him a slap to the face, then paused, listening to something Loki couldn’t hear, before he started to strip the jacket off the drunk bum. Loki slowly came to his feet, unsteady and not daring to admit he was pleased to see Stark, though he was truly more than pleased to see him.

“He should be able to sleep that off,” Stark muttered at the bum. He turned to Loki and tossed the jacket at him. Loki barely caught it with his good hand, swiftly clinging to it against his chest. Stark stood silent, watching him, and it took a good minute before Loki lifted his gaze to meet Stark’s. He was too exhausted to school his features, too pleased to see Stark not to have it show on his face, too drained not to show the turmoil the evening out had caused him. His wide eyes were honest as they met Stark’s gaze.

“You are a fucking stubborn little Prince,” Stark sighed, looking relieved himself, if Loki could believe it. “Come on.” He flipped his visor down and reached for Loki, wrapping an arm around his waist and taking off before Loki could think to protest.

*

Loki’s arms were firmly around Tony’s neck as they came in for a landing in his lab. They came down the flight ramp and he flipped his legs out beneath himself. He landed on his feet, the thrusters turning off as he thumped onto the solid floor. Loki was not exactly quick to let go of him, though normally he’d be light on his feet. He took a moment to settle and collected himself before slowly pulling away. Tony didn’t even try to hide his amused grin as he flipped up his visor and took in the disheveled and rather meek Loki standing before him now. So long as he continued to honestly interact with Tony, he was ready to let the man stay.

“You want a room with a view or not?” Tony wondered casually as he stepped past the man and stood still to allow his robots to strip off the Iron Man suit.

Loki still looked stunned at the turn of events but gratitude flashed in his eyes instead of self-righteousness. “I do not have a preference.”

“A view it is then,” Tony decided as he stepped out of the last of his suit and escorted Loki up the flight of stairs out of his lab.

“Thank you,” Loki whispered to him as they made their way to one of the many guest rooms in the house. Tony picked the closest one to his own bedroom, wanting to keep an eye on the man.

He took a step ahead and spun around, pointing to the various highlights. “Shower. Closet. Bed. I’d suggest hitting those in that order because homeless hobo is not the new Old Spice, m’kay?” Tony slapped the man’s shoulder as he headed back toward the door. “The cast should be fine. Scrub away and dunk it all you like.”

Loki took a step to the walk in closet, pulling the door open experimentally. “But there are no garments…”

“Take a shower and there will be,” Tony promised as he headed down the hallway. He paused as he heard an actual amused little chuckle come from the room he’d just left. Who knew Loki’s laugh could be anything but condescending?

He continued on down the hallway and into his own room. He pulled out old t-shirts and sweatpants that he wasn’t too attached to. The lanky ex-god wouldn’t ever be able to fit those long legs in his jeans so he skipped them. He scrounged for a new package of underwear hiding in the closet and some sandals that might fit the man. Tony paused a moment to look at the pile of collected clothing on his bed. What was he doing? Clothing, sheltering, saving, protecting _this_ man? Why? He wasn’t afraid of his big bro Thor. All things being equal he should be taking Loki down to SHIELD or maybe killing him himself just to get even for Phil. But what good would either of those things do? Loki was here to learn a little humility. It was the only thing he believed from Loki’s earlier speech. A man like Loki with a sound mind? That was a powerful thing for more than just this world.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. He could come up with all the reasons he wanted but he knew none of that was really why Loki was here in his house again. Was he really so desperate to be the fucking knight in shining armor?

He gave an all suffering sigh at himself and gathered up the clothing, heading straight back down to Loki’s room. He could hear the shower running and spotted the door to the bathroom shut. Thank god. That was not a smell he wanted lingering in his house. He put the clothing in the closet neatly. It wasn’t a lot of choices but it would do. He called out to Jarvis, “When he’s done be sure he sends his clothes out for dry cleaning _immediately_.”

“Understood.” There was a pause and then Jarvis questioned, “Shall I inform Pepper of our houseguest?”

“Fuck no,” Tony answered swiftly, heading back out of the room and downstairs. She was going to be livid and he wasn’t completely sure how to smooth talk her into it. He needed more time to think about how to approach her but morning was coming and he was fucking exhausted and hungry. Food first. Then bed. And then finally work. Yes. Definitely that order.

He returned back upstairs stuffing his face with Wheaties, the random-meal-of-the-day of champions. The bowl was perched on a large muffin and sat rather steady atop it as he continued to spoon up heaping mouthfuls of cereal. He could hear the shower was off by now and stepped around the door to Loki’s room. His spoon stopped midway from bowl to mouth as he caught sight of Loki with his back to him in clearly nothing but one of Tony’s sweatpants. It hugged the man’s backside and thighs so tightly that it was obvious the man had not found or had ignored the package of tighty whities. He was topless and his pale back stood out starkly against the black sweatpants. He was lean but he was not without muscle mass. Of course he knew from experience that Loki was no weakling but even mortal he probably packed a punch when not at the end of his rope. The muscles of his shoulders and arms were defined and his back was as smooth as porcelain as it slid on down to that just barely hidden round ass.

His gaze jerked up as Loki slid on a matching black t-shirt and looked back over his shoulder to the doorway. Tony feigned innocence as he leaned against the door jam and finally continued on with that bite of cereal. “It’s a few sizes too small, Alice in Wonderland, but it’ll do, huh? You hungry?” He crunched down on his spoonful of cereal and then slid the spoon into the bowl, using his now free hand to toss the muffin at Loki inside the room.

Loki caught it with a surprised blink and turned to face Tony. He had picked out a Black Sabbath t-shirt from the collection. Tony couldn’t help a grin at the choice. “It’s blueberry. It’s awesome. Eat it and get some real sleep, huh?”

Loki’s gaze met his in the shyest of glances. “Thank you. For it all.” Tony took him in, scrutinizing for any attempts to play up the kicked puppy gig, but he seemed to be truthfully grateful and a little nervous about Tony’s lingering gaze.

“Okay enough with the groveling. You get some sleep.” Tony turned to head down the hallway. He called back to Loki, “And no trying to kill me until I’ve had a good four hours of sleep or you’ll get a grumpy ass kicking.”

There was another small amused chuckle from Loki, and Tony grinned as he stepped into his own room and shut the door behind himself. It was a little frightening how easy he could get used to that laugh.

*

Loki’s dreams were filled with monsters. He was lost in a black nothingness filled with terrible creatures that stalked him. He ran but he never seemed to run far enough. They were always nipping at his heels. He fell and collapsed. The great beasts morphed into towering Chitauri and thundered their way to him, making the formless world shake around him. They had found him. They would tear him apart piece by piece. They would see to their losses during the failed invasion of Midgard with his blood. They would leave him just barely alive for ages to come while they tortured and mutilated him. He was too weak to fight back. His limbs did not move and his body would not respond. He could not breathe in the suffocating blackness around him. He could not put but a scratch on them as they surrounded him, grabbed for him, each of them taking a limb and picking him up by it, stretching and pulling him nearly to pieces. He was screaming. The world went bright and he saw sparks and light and a flash of brilliant red and gold streaked between him and the Chitauri before his eyes flew open.

“Easy, easy,” he heard Stark tell him in a soothing tone, the man looking down at him. He had a firm hand on Loki’s chest, both to still his thrashing and to calm him down. “Breathe deep. Slow.”

Loki gasped as he found himself back in Stark’s home in the ridiculously comfortable bed. He was safe. He was warm. He was whole. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains to his right, casting warm shadows over the entire room. His eyes finally focused on the man looking down at him with concern and Loki gasped, “ _Anthony_.”

Stark cocked an eyebrow at him and teased, “Well let’s hope you weren’t dreamin’ of me. I like my fair share of screamers but-” He cut himself off as Loki leapt forward and clung to him. Tears came unbidden but he only clung tighter to Stark. The metallic cast kept his one arm merely wrapped over Stark’s shoulder but the other hand clung to the back of Stark’s neck, twisting the collar of his tank top in his lean fingers. It took but a moment before he felt Stark’s arms wrap around him, holding him firmly against his chest.

Loki sobbed his hurt and his relief into Stark’s broad shoulder. Where would he be without this man? Who would have found him in the morning out there? What would become of him without Stark? He deserved no pity or help from him yet he received it. Why? Why would Stark help him? He had to know, if for no other reason than to be certain he would never lose Stark’s protection. Although he knew the warmth he felt as Stark held him was not simply from the protection Stark brought him.

His tears slowly ceased and his thoughts mellowed into simple happiness to be right where he was pressed against Stark. He did not move even as his hold on the back of Stark’s tank top eased. He could feel the metallic arc just beneath the thin cloth covering Stark’s chest. His scent was warm and lightly spicy. He momentarily regretted that he was not on Stark’s lap as well before a deep blush overtook his features at the thought. This man was a tease but he was not interested in men, much less the man in his arms. Loki did not move, soaking in the feel of being so close to Stark, as he was certain he’d have limited chances to be so close.

Finally Stark spoke, “You wanna talk about it?” His tone was soft in his ear and his voice rumbled in his chest. Loki shivered at the sound of it so close and gentle. Stark seemed to take the shiver as a reaction to whatever nightmares had been plaguing him. His arms tightened around Loki. “You don’t have to. Not yet.”

Oh my, if Stark kept holding him, he would do something he would quickly regret. He forced himself to focus on his nightmares and the dark thoughts that had fled with Stark’s mere presence. “I dreamt of the Chitauri,” he stated in a soft, breathless tone. “When they find me-“

“ _If_ they find you,” Stark interrupted.

Loki turned his head, looking up at the man holding him, his own head on Stark’s shoulder. “They will torment me with pain that I cannot begin to describe.” He sighed and slowly pulled away from Stark, sliding back to rest against the plush headboard and pillows. He pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged them instead of Stark. There was a fleeting look of disappointment on Stark’s features. Loki rested his head on his knees and looked down at his bare feet against the cream bedding. “I dreamt of their finding me.”

Stark shifted on the bed, moving to sit with his legs folded in front of him. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he questioned intently, “Why did Thor send you here? Truthfully, Loki. He would have kept you locked up away from the Chitauri if they pose so much threat to you.”

Loki chewed on his lower lip a long moment before he spoke softly, “He felt I would not change locked away. He felt pity for me and did not wish madness and hate to grow within me. Perhaps he is right about that much. I would be safe in a cell in Asgard but I would not have changed.”

Stark took him in a long moment before he pushed more, “So he thought I could keep an eye on you? Why didn’t he come and tell me all this?”

Loki blushed just lightly and tightened his good arm around his legs, his gaze still on his feet. What use was lying now? Stark wanted the truth. He had seen through all his pretty lies. He answered softly, “He allowed me to choose where to be exiled.”

Both of Stark’s eyebrows rose at the comment. He tilted his head not unlike a curious puppy. “ _You_ picked me?”

The blush deepened on Loki’s features but he ignored it as he tried to reason, “Who else would not likely harm me? Who else would not likely send me to SHIELD? Who may but have a chance against the Chitauri? Only you. I have no friends. I have no one. No people. No home.”

“And you thought you could sweet talk me with Thor’s want for you to find redemption?” Stark questioned with a firmer tone.

Loki looked up with wide eyes. He could not bear being tossed out of this home again but he knew nothing but the truth would be acceptable to this man. His voice trembled as he answered, “Y-Yes.”

Stark’s gaze was firm and unwavering as he took Loki in. “Those are _all_ the reasons you picked me?”

Loki felt his ears turn pink as he returned his gaze back down to his bare feet and tightened his hold on his legs. He could not possibly want him to say this aloud to him. The man did not want to hear this. He only wanted to see him squirm and embarrass him thoroughly. He bit down on his lower lip as the blush overtook him. He loathed this human body. Must it always give him away on this?

He heard an amused chuckle from Stark and he chanced a glance at the man, surprised to see him smiling at him. “Thank you for the honesty, Abe.” Loki blinked but then he rarely understood Stark’s pet names. Stark smiled and squeezed Loki’s nearest forearm wrapped around his legs. “I want you here, Loki, so long as you continue with the honesty.” His grin grew cocky as he continued, “And those Chitauri bastards won’t get their grubby hands on you. Promise.”

Loki’s gaze was more than grateful as he took in the man. He surely understood what his blush meant and yet he still wished him here? “Thank you,” was all he could think to say.

Stark gave another squeeze to his arm and smoothly slid to get up. “You hungry? Come on. I’ll order in a pizza.”

Loki moved to get up just as the disembodied voice of Stark’s computer spoke, “I do believe Pepper has arrived with burgers, if that’s to your liking?”

Stark froze a moment and snapped, “You could have told me she was coming home!” He rushed out of Loki’s room, the computer’s voice following him downstairs apologizing. Loki cocked an eyebrow at the sudden, fairly panicked response. He ran fingers though his messy hair as he padded more slowly after Stark, who had disappeared down the stairs.

*

“I figured you’re always hungry so why not bring a peace offering?” Pepper was all smiles as she handed the Burger King bag over to Tony and stole a kiss before slinging her purse over her shoulder. “Did you just get up?” she wondered with a teasing giggle.

“I… I was up late.”

Pepper cast a questioning glance at him. “Oh really? _Working_ I hope?” There was suddenly a hint of accusation in her voice.

“Kinda,” Tony answered, which was not exactly what she wanted to hear and he knew it. He rushed on. “Listen. I have a houseguest.”

“You hate houseguests.”

“Ya, but see this isn’t exactly a usual set of circumstances.” He still had no idea how to get Pepper to come on board with this idea. His analytical side was placing bets on her storming out and oddly he was not too upset about the prospect. He really just didn’t want her to make a scene or hurt herself.

Pepper’s features narrowed as she glared at him. “Who is she?”

Tony blinked at the sudden accusation. “She?”

“This _unusual_ houseguest of yours,” she snapped as she marched her way further into the house, high heels clicking against the polished wood floors. “Don’t tell me she’s a colleague, I know everyone under your supervision, so who is she? Please don’t tell me you went dumpster diving for company last night. I swear to God!”

“Pepper stop. Pepper!” He rushed after her but she kept up a fast pace straight for the living room. “He isn’t what he appears to be and you’ve gotta listen to me about what’s going on-“

“He?” Pepper turned to look at Tony with a surprised expression. “ _He?_ ” Tony nodded and opened his mouth to continue explaining but Pepper cut him off, “When I think you can’t fucking surprise me any longer, you bring home some _guy_?”

“He showed up here and he’s not just some _guy_ -”

She interrupted him, the both of them talking over each other now in a rush of words, “Well clearly he’s just some fanboy with a cute ass that you-“

“He is not a fanboy. You know him. And you’re going to be fucking pissed so let me explain.”

“I’m already pissed! And how is it that my knowing this guy is a selling point? What is wrong with you?”

“It’s not a selling point! It makes it worse!”

“Exactly!” she shouted and shoved Tony aside, marching her way into the living room.

Oh ya, this was gonna go well.

He rushed after her but he didn’t have to go far. She was frozen just inside the open space, staring at Loki sitting on the far sofa. She was pale and stiff as a board. Loki merely raised an eyebrow at the red haired woman in front of him.

Tony came around to face her, putting himself between her and Loki. “Okay. See? This is why I wanted to talk first.”

“What-What is he doing here? Why is he here? How is he here? I don’t-“

“All very valid questions and concerns.” He stepped closer to Pepper as he soothed softly. “He was sent here by Thor to live with mortals and learn a little respect for the ants he tried to crush, ya know? He won’t be here forever. He has his own room. Everything’s fine.”

“Everything’s fine?” she repeated back to him, still staring at Loki over his shoulder.

“We’ve done some bonding and talked some things out.”

“You’re his counselor now?” she wondered, mystified.

“I dunno. Kinda.”

“He’s wearing your shirt,” she said pointedly.

“Oh. Well I made him sleep in the rain and then a hobo jumped him but really that’s beside the point. He had to wear something clean.”

Pepper’s stunned gaze turned to Tony as she shook her head at him. “He’s a mass murderer.”

Tony cocked an eyebrow. “So was I.”

She shot him a look, “That’s not the same, Tony.”

“Look. He was a bit of a handful at first but since he’s mortal he can’t do too much harm and… What? What are you doing?”

“He’s mortal now?” Pepper had her purse open and was digging through the bottom of the large designer bag. “Well then this is for Phil.” She pulled out a Stark brand stun gun and Tony’s eyes widened.

“No no no. You put that away right now, Pepper.”

“He killed Phil!” she snapped at Tony, then looked back to Loki, her fear of him quickly replaced by her hatred of him now that she knew he couldn’t harm her. She snarled the words out as she tossed her purse aside, “You killed Phil Coulson.”

“Indeed I did,” Loki said flatly as he sat on the sofa, not moving from his place.

“You. Quiet.” Tony pointed to Loki, then turned back to Pepper. “What good is this gonna do? Huh? You tase him once? Twice? He passes out and you give him a kick in the balls. What good does that do anybody?”

“I’m not stopping after he passes out,” she growled, taking a step toward Loki.

Tony raised an eyebrow at that and stopped her by her shoulders, holding her back. “You? Beautiful, wonderful, puts up with all my bullshit Pepper Potts. You are going to kill someone? Maim someone? That’s not you, Pepper.”

“Don’t make me use this on you too,” she snapped, waving the stun gun toward him.

He stayed in place, keeping Pepper’s gaze. “You are angry. You are hurt. You want to lash back out. I know the feeling, Pepper, but hurting him won’t fix any of those things. He’s here to better himself. Wouldn’t Phil rather see some good come out of all this bad?”

She lowered the stun gun but still implored him, “How can you let him stay here? How can you give him your clothes? How can you?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Pepper.”

“Not everyone,” she growled, casting a look to Loki still unmoved from his place on the sofa. Tears began to fill her eyes as she gasped, “He’s a monster.”

“I’ve decided to help him, Pepper. He’s staying. Please. Just. Come back here and-“

“No,” she snapped and jerked out of his grip, stepping around Tony to face Loki once again. “Phil Coulson was a wonderful human being and you will never in a thousand lifetimes be able to come close to just how remarkable and thoughtful and special he was.” Tears streamed down her cheeks but Loki sat quiet and unresponsive. “You were a monster and you are a monster and nothing you ever do will wash the blood off your pathetic little hands.” She threw the stun gun at Loki but he smoothly ducked and it hit the back of the sofa, spinning off behind it. She made a loud sound of disgust and picked up her purse, marching back out of the living room toward the front of the house.

Tony rushed off after her, “See? Feel better? It does help and if you’d sit and talk with him-“

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you and all the theories I have on why you’re harboring him here make me pretty disgusted with you so if you would just _not_ speak to me right now.”

“I told you why he’s here. If they’re honest about it, everyone deserves a second chance, and I have this feeling that he’s truly giving this a shot and-“

She stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway and faced him, tears still on her cheeks. “I can’t deal with this. I can’t deal with you. I’m done.”

“What? Over a houseguest? Pepper, don’t be silly.”

“This isn’t a houseguest. This is… doing the opposite of what any normal human being would do to the man who killed their friend. This is crazy!”

“I never said I was sane,” Tony half joked but Pepper was having none of it.

“I’m done with this. You enjoy your little creepy ex-super villain reform school you’re building here.”

“Pepper…”

“We’re over. I’m done.” She threw open the front door and paused a moment, reaching for the burgers sitting on the entryway table. “Why don’t you cook him some omelets,” she sneered as she slammed the door behind her.

Tony stood dumbfounded. Of all the things to break the two of them up, he never would have guessed this one.

He stared at the closed door a long moment, lost for words and feelings. It hurt just a little in return that she couldn’t see what he was doing here. She usually eventually understood what was going on and why he did what he did. Maybe they had been spending too much time apart lately.

He gave a drawn out sigh and turned around to walk back down the long hallway.

Was he going to have to find a new CEO too?

*

Loki was still sitting on the sofa with his hands in his lap when Stark returned to the main room.

“Well. That went about as well as I thought it would.” Stark sighed and came to collapse at the opposite end of the long, curved sofa from Loki.

“I am sorry,” Loki said quietly, looking to Stark as he settled into an exhausted pose, slumped on the sofa and face in his hands.

“Not your fault.” Stark rubbed at his face with both hands. “Definitely not your fault.”

“But I did kill Phil Coulson. It was right of her to be angry with me.” Loki’s gaze returned to his hands. “I am responsible for many more deaths besides his. I do not deserve pity or mercy.”

“Oh no, Princess. No pity party, please.” Stark dropped his hands and looked over at Loki as the dark haired man met his gaze. “I designed weapons to protect this nation and my company sold them to terrorists. How many lives do I have on my hands? Hm?” He reached for the tumbler on the table beside the sofa, pouring himself a glass of scotch. “It’s not about who you were. It’s about who you _are_. Life is all about choices and you gotta make the right ones as they come at you. You can’t sob over what happened last week or last year.”

Loki blinked as Stark handed him the glass and poured himself another. “Is it not early to drink?”

Stark laughed darkly, “It’s never too early to drink.” He downed the shot and called out to the computer, “Jarvis, we still need pizza.”

“Already on its way, sir.”

Loki looked down at the glass of liquor in his hands. It was a dark amber that reminded him quite a lot of Stark’s eyes, if he were honest. He swirled it some in the glass. He could hear Stark pour himself another.

“I am a monster.”

Stark sighed beside him, “Oh no please don’t-“

“I am not Asgardian,” Loki interrupted, still taking in the swirl of the amber liquor.

Stark’s mood shifted from dismissive to interested, looking at the man beside him, “Thor said you were adopted?”

Loki could not help the sneer that formed on his face at the mention of his would-be brother telling Stark and likely all of SHIELD that he was adopted and so not truly his brother. Where were your blasted family ties then, Thor? He sighed and closed his eyes. He let that hurt fade for now as he continued, “After the final throes of battle with the Frost Giants, Odin found a small baby. I was a runt and left to die. He enchanted my features, changed me to look as an Asgardian, and took me home with him. He _claims_ love but it was tactics, always tactics with Odin. I was but a pawn in some peace agreement scheme of his. All my life he claimed to love us both but I always knew he loved Thor more than me. He has always favored him. Why should he not? He could not favor the son who was truly one and the same with the monstrous men mothers told stories about to their children. He could not have a _Frost Giant_ as king of Asgard. He could not… he could not even see me _ever_ as Thor’s equal. No matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough… I tried so very hard but he never praised…”

Stark shifted down beside him on the sofa, tapping Loki’s glass with a rugged finger. “Down the hatch.” Loki looked up at Stark beside him, emotions laid open, and confusion over the comment on his features. “Drink,” Stark commanded.

Loki sighed and brought the glass up, taking the entire shot as Stark had done. It burned all the way down and he coughed in surprise. He was used to mead and beer not something as strong as this, certainly not with the form he was forced into currently. Stark chuckled beside him and slapped his upper back as Loki sputtered and attempted to collect himself.

“It’s good stuff, right?” Stark filled Loki’s glass again and Loki eyed the liquor with slight distaste. He felt Stark shift beside him and settle with his back against the sofa. “So what do you Frost Giants look like then? You’re tall I’ll give you that but not exactly _giant_.”

Loki couldn’t help smiling just a little at the tease and glanced to meet Stark’s questioning gaze just beside him. “I am quite small for a Frost Giant indeed. They are… We are masters of frost and ice. We have markings along our skin which is a deep shade of blue-“

Stark snickered beside him and wondered, “So you’re giant Smurfs?”

Loki blinked at the reference and raised an eyebrow.

Stark brushed it aside with a wave of his drink and continued, “So you’re really blue?”

Loki raised both eyebrows now at Stark’s preoccupation with this point. “Yes.”

“I’ve never seen you all blue and monstrous.”

“Well currently I believe I’m human thanks to Thor,” Loki answered, wondering what Stark was getting at.

“Earlier though. Taking over the Earth and all that. You could have been blue. It might have been intimidating, might not have been. It would have pissed your brother off though.”

“I like this form better,” Loki responded flatly.

Stark pointed a finger at him. “Exactly.”

“What? Exactly what?” Surely two drinks were not enough to send Stark into inane ramblings but he seemed to be far too preoccupied with this entire point.

Stark leaned in closer still and Loki had difficulty focusing on the man’s words as he leaned in so close. “Exactly that. You like this form best. You feel _you_ like this, right?” He waited for Loki to nod before he went on, “You feel lied to and it hurts that your Asgardian parents lied and your biological parents left you to die but you aren’t Frost Giant or Asgardian.” Loki blinked, thoroughly confused. Stark smiled as he continued, “You’re you. You’re Loki. Something a little of both.”

Loki shook his head at the idea. “I do not think myself so unique.”

“Narcissism is good, take it from me, it keeps you focused on what’s important - yourself.” He snorted and leaned back against the sofa again, downing his third shot. “Thanks to Odin you have your life, a life that no other Frost Giant has ever been given. You can pick traits from whatever side of the family you like. It sounds pretty awesome to me.”

“It is not,” Loki said flatly.

“Don’t be a sourpuss.” He looked back to Loki and sobered as he added, “No one grows up in the perfect family, Loki. No one. We all have our daddy and mommy issues. My dad never noticed me either, no matter what I built for him, and then he died. Life isn’t about getting praise from your parents. We deal with what we’re handed and we move on. Be better than Odin. Be better than the mother who left you to die. Prove them both wrong.”

Loki stared into Stark’s deep brown eyes. It could not be so simple. He could not just toss aside all that had happened to him in his life. The bitterness and the anger were too great to merely let go of in an instant. Yet something inside of him knew Stark was right. The honesty on Stark’s face as he confided about his own father and childhood hit Loki firmly in the chest. The butterflies in his stomach mixed with the liquor to give him a warm glow of hope at Stark’s emphatic statements. Could he be right?

The intercom beeped as the food arrived. Stark brightened and moved quickly to his feet. “Breakfast!”

*

The giant pizza box was laid open on the coffee table. Tony sat on the floor beside Loki, their backs against the sofa’s lower half and Tony’s legs spread out underneath the coffee table, Loki’s folded up in front of him. The pizza was nearly gone and Tony had washed more than his fair share of it down with scotch. He was feeling full and content in a wonderfully warm sort of way beside Loki. The thin man still picked at one last piece of pizza but Tony was more than done. He had poked Loki more about his life growing up in Asgard and how _exactly_ he came to leave that world. Tony had talked in turn about his childhood and tried to draw parallels for Loki. It wasn’t too hard to do.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the sofa, rolling his head back against it. Maybe today wasn’t meant to be a workday. One of the perks of being eccentric and owning your own billion dollar company was working when you felt like it. He let out a contented hum and knowingly shifted toward Loki, resting his head against the man’s shoulder. He could feel Loki stiffen nervously beside him and Tony grinned, eyes still closed. He asked smoothly, “So there’s no pretty Asgardian women sobbing that you’re gone now? Hm?”

“I…” Loki croaked and Tony’s grin grew.

“Come on. The women can’t all be as burly as Thor. You’re a handsome guy. Girls gotta go gaga for those pretty eyes of yours. You haven’t mentioned any girls.”

Loki cleared his throat and countered, “You have not mentioned any either.”

Tony chuckled with his eyes still closed, “Well I can start on that list but it’s gonna get fuzzy after about fifty or so.”

“Please do not,” Loki replied with some distaste in his voice.

Hm, and Loki was jealous too. Interesting.

“It all started with this red head tutor who had the cutest little butt-“

Loki shrugged off Tony from his shoulder and moved to get up. Tony opened his eyes then and slid his arm around the man’s waist, keeping him sitting beside him on the floor. Loki shot him an annoyed look.

“Girls are too much trouble anyway,” Tony soothed and let the full force of his charisma fill his gaze as he took in Loki. “Guys?”

Loki slowly turned a shade of pink even as he seemed lost in Tony’s gaze. “A few…” Loki gasped in response, trailing off as he turned pinker still. “None that lasted any length of time. I am not… They do not stay.”

Tony filed that bit of information away as he tightened his hold on Loki’s waist and pulled the man’s side tight against his own. Loki stiffened and gave him a confused look.

“You are drunk,” he stated firmly.

“Warm and fuzzy,” Tony clarified.

“You are upset over Pepper.”

Tony shook his head. “I wasn’t kicking you out because of her.”

Loki blinked at him and wondered, “You picked me over her?”

“Well, I…” Tony trailed off as he considered the comment. He hadn’t looked at it that way. Maybe he had. “I guess I did.”

Loki relaxed some beside him. There was a quiet moment and Tony was lost a bit in thought, contemplating his own actions. Well ya, he wasn’t too worried about Pepper. They might not be dating any more but she’d come around and still be in his life at least. He just needed her around. She was family. On the other hand, Loki… there was just something… something redeemable and heartbreaking about the man, not to mention that ass of his and his beautiful-

“Men?” Loki broke the silence and Tony had to blink to focus on Loki again.

“What?”

“Are there any men tossed aside by the great Tony Stark?” Loki asked pointedly, his silken voice a tease with the words.

It was Tony’s turn to blush a little as he cleared his throat and shook his head. “No.” Loki’s features fell just a little. The dark haired man was positively transparent, wasn’t he? Tony smiled warmly as he slid his hand up from Loki’s hip to brush along the thin fabric at Loki’s far side. “So you’ll have to teach me a thing or two for once, huh?”

Loki positively shivered beside him at the simple touch. God Loki did have it bad for him, didn’t he? Tony ran his hand down Loki’s side and slipped fingers underneath the back of his shirt, brushing against the smooth soft skin of his lower back. Loki stiffened and pulled away from him again. His tone grew sharp as he snapped, “I am not a toy. I am not a _one-night experience_ to play with. I will not be your distraction from-”

Tony kissed him. Loki stiffed and pulled back but Tony’s arms wrapped around the man and his mouth dropped open, suckling on Loki’s lower lip until the man moaned and parted his own lips. The kiss was wet and hungry as Loki gave into it, his hands twisting in the front of Tony’s tank top. He tasted amazing with scotch on his lips. It was different. The form pressed against him was definitely male but it was a nice kind of different.

Tony gave a possessive little growl as the kiss ended and he opened his eyes, taking in what could only be described as the swooning form of Loki in his arms with his eyes still closed. “This isn’t just today,” Tony breathed in a husky pant.

Loki’s eyes flittered open as he met Tony’s gaze. Christ he had the most stunning pair of eyes Tony had ever fucking seen. “I hope that is the truth of it,” Loki sighed. He shifted forward, moving to sit sideways on Tony’s lap, his thigh pressed against Tony’s hips as he wrapped long arms around Tony’s neck and kissed him this time around.

“ _Oh god yes_ ,” Tony moaned into the kiss, arms going around the man’s waist. He could feel a grin against his lips from Loki before the man bit his lower lip lightly. Tony’s mouth happily dropped open for the man and he tilted his head to one side as the kiss smoldered and grew deeper. His hands returned to Loki’s back and dipped again underneath his shirt, pushing it up and running fingers along Loki’s smooth skin. He twisted the shirt up in a hand at Loki’s upper back and slid his other hand around to his front. He went with what he knew and brushed his palm up from Loki’s stomach to his flat chest, teasing his thumb over a nipple. Loki’s moan in response was all the encouragement he needed. He circled it slowly as he suckled on Loki’s tongue. He slid his palm over to do the same with his other nipple and he could feel Loki’s tremble as he did the move again. Then he lightly tugged on the nipple and the man moaned into the kisses, rolling his thigh down against Tony’s hips.

Oh this was going to be quick the first time around, wasn’t it?

Tony rolled his hips forward, rubbing himself up against Loki’s thigh and letting the man clearly feel just how much he wanted him. Loki broke the kiss with a gasp, his fingers threading into Tony’s hair. “ _Anthony_ ,” he crooned and opened those magnificent eyes to look at him. One thing Tony instantly hated about this situation was the fact he couldn’t pin Loki to the floor and have him right here. Time for a little foreplay and a lot less clothing, then.

He pushed the coffee table further away from the sofa with a shove and pulled the both of them down onto the floor, hands reaching to tug off the Black Sabbath t-shirt from Loki. He tossed it across the room and raised his own arms as Loki’s firm grip was pulling up his own tank. It went flying to join Loki’s shirt somewhere and Tony made to kiss Loki again but the man pushed Tony over onto his back, straddling him as he ran fingers over Tony’s chest. Loki’s long locks fell forward in soft strands as he bent forward and kissed Tony just behind the ear. The sweet kiss ended with a light nip of Loki’s teeth. “ _Oh yes baby_ ,” Tony moaned as Loki continued on with the same treatment, pressing kisses and nips down his neck and chest.

He watched Loki take in the arc in his chest, the metal standing out some and the inner workings glowing blue in the soft midday sunlight that came in through the far windows. Loki ran a finger over the front of it and for the fleetest of moments Tony wondered if he was foolish to let this man so freely touch the arc. Then Loki met his gaze and all his worries vanished. This wasn’t the same man. Loki’s gaze was filled with wonder and adoration and want. He bent again to press a kiss to the arc itself, then continued his way to Tony’s right nipple. Tony’s eyes rolled back and he moaned at the firm suck and deliberate tug to it with Loki’s teeth. Tony’s hands moved to thread into Loki’s long hair and twisted in it as he did the same treatment to his other nipple before moving his way down his stomach with the sweet, nipping kisses.

He willingly lifted his hips as Loki tugged at his sweatpants. There was the most adorable squeak of happiness from Loki as Tony’s hard cock sprung free. He ripped off the last of Tony’s clothing as he pressed the same kiss to the base of Tony’s cock. “ _Oh god_ ,” Tony moaned, jaw hanging open as he watched Loki’s bruised red lips press kisses up the length of his cock.

Loki grinned from behind his bangs and murmured in a tease, “Oh god indeed.” He swirled his tongue around the head of Tony’s cock before he wrapped his lips around it and sucked, slowly taking in more of him with a hum.

The cocky little amazing fucking bastard. Tony could not believe the sight in front of him. Loki’s long delicate fingers wrapped around the base of his cock. Loki’s lips red and wrapped around his girth. Loki’s amused and hungry eyes met his gaze as he took the better half of his cock in his mouth. Tony twisted fingers in Loki’s dark hair and couldn’t help rolling his hips, dying to have this man in so many ways. Loki placed one hand on his hip but still allowed him to thrust some as he started to bob his head on his cock, humming happily as he did so. Tony couldn’t handle the sight. He closed his eyes and tossed his head back, moaning freely as he struggled to hold back a little longer. He felt the hand on his hip slide down to cup and lightly squeeze his balls. A finger stroked the backside of his balls and slowly slid back further…

“ _Oh shit!_ ” Tony cried as he came, having no time to warn Loki about it, but the man didn’t seemed bothered at all. He growled and continued his bobbing, taking a little less of Tony’s cock in his mouth. Then he felt him swallow and Tony moaned all over again at the sensation. Few women wanted to taste him let alone swallow him but Loki seemed fucking pleased to do both.

The last of his climax washed over him as Loki released his cock with a wet smack and stroked him twice as he licked his lips. Tony opened his eyes to see him looking as pleased as a damn kitten.

“ _Come here_ ,” he growled and pulled Loki up to him again, kissing him deep and tasting himself on Loki’s lips. Goddamn that was even better than scotch on his lips. He bit lightly at Loki’s lower lip as he slid hands down Loki’s back to cup his ass through the thin sweatpants. The man on top of him moaned and rolled his hips. Tony could feel just how rigid Loki was beneath those pants. Again, it was different, but not a bad different.

He tugged down the sweatpants, letting Loki kick them off, as he rolled them onto their sides and broke the kiss. He propped himself up on an elbow and gently pushed Loki to lie on his back beside him, running his hand from Loki’s shoulder down across his chest. Loki was a beautiful shade of pink next to him. His cheeks and his chest were a brilliant shade of it and he looked the most honest and open Tony had ever seen him. The want and the need in his eyes were tempered by happiness and adoration. Oh god did he have it bad for you, Tony.

He bent and kissed the man softly on the lips, his hand sliding down Loki’s stomach to brush experimental fingers against Loki’s firm cock. The man whined into the kiss, deepening it as he thrust into Tony’s touch. Tony wrapped his fingers around Loki’s cock and slowly stroked as he broke the kiss, pulling back to look at the man again. He was beautiful. There just wasn’t any other word that would do. The man was gorgeous. Even his hard, long cock was a lovely shade of red and pink against his pale skin. Tony stroked him, squeezing on the up strokes and rubbing the head before each down stroke. Loki looked up at him with such want and hunger in those beautiful eyes. He couldn’t get enough of merely taking the man in. It was both a foreign experience and a sight he was sure, even if he’d done this before with someone else, he’d want to take in with Loki.

He finally bent to press kisses of his own to Loki’s neck and chest, feeling the man tremble and gasp beside him. He swirled his tongue around Loki’s nearest nipple and earned himself a moan of the most delicious sort. He sucked hard and then nipped at the soft skin before he kissed his way over the flat chest to his other nipple. He gave it the same treatment as he continued to slowly stroke Loki. The man squirmed beside him, his fingers moving to thread into Tony’s hair. One beautiful moan led to another as he teased the man by his nipples a while longer before he kissed his way down Loki’s chest and stomach, shifting further down on the floor.

Loki’s eyes flew open as Tony took in his cock up close. It was pretty fucking perfect, if he had anything to say about it. He slowed his strokes to a stop and held him by his base, tossing a grin up at Loki’s wide eyes as he flicked his tongue out against the head of his cock. Loki jerked beneath him. He released Tony’s hair and clawed at the floor instead, digging fingers into it as Tony licked his lips and tasted him again. It wasn’t unpleasant. Far from unpleasant. He shifted and wrapped his mouth around the pretty little head of his cock. “ _Anthony!_ ” sounded Loki’s surprised shout as he came instantly. Tony felt the vaguely familiar squeeze and pulse of Loki’s cock before he tasted seed. Really he didn’t know why girls hated the taste. Again Loki’s was anything but horrible. He rolled it around on his tongue some as he sucked and felt another pulse rush through Loki. The man trembled and shook beside him. Tony finally settled on swallowing and then dropped his jaw open, testing out just how much of Loki he could take. He was disappointed with his progress and quickly pulled back with a gasp.

“ _Ohmyohmy_ ,” gasped Loki over and over again as he took in Tony. Loki lay still trembling on the floor. Tony merely licked his lips and resolved to get more time practicing that maneuver. He was somehow sure Loki wouldn’t mind.

Tony sucked in a deep, steadying breath as he moved to sit upright. Loki still looked about ready to turn into a puddle beside him. He cocked a confident grin and carefully moved to stand up, reaching for Loki.

“Bed. Now.”

*

He could scarcely believe that Stark was half carrying him up to his own bed. His feet didn’t quite work and his head was in a happy daze. He could still taste Stark on his lips and he wanted more. He leaned heavily against Stark’s naked body as he took the two of them upstairs. Loki’s human legs were far too weak. They didn’t seem to be functioning right now. He clung with his good arm around the man, staring dreamily at the man as they climbed the stairs. He thought perhaps at the very most Stark would touch him. He had not been prepared for Stark to taste him and it had all rushed to overwhelm him too quickly. He blushed at the memories but Stark didn’t seem upset about his quick finish. Far from it.

They reached Stark’s bedroom and he called out, “Give us some shade.” There was a light beep and the sunlight coming in through the windows dimmed as the windows themselves tinted a darker shade.

“Would you like some mood lighting as well, sir?” came the computer’s rather sarcastic comment.

“No but you can fuck off now, Jarvis,” Stark grumbled at the machine and picked up Loki. Loki gave a not so dignified squeak at Stark picking him up and carried him the last few steps to the large bed.

He was set down gently and swiftly covered by Stark as he kissed him. This was far more comfortable than the floor downstairs. He wrapped his good arm around Stark as he felt the man’s solid weight cover him. The arc was cool against Loki’s chest and sent shivering reminders through him of who the man on top of him truly was. Stark thrust down against him with a roll of his hips, sending a moan from Loki as he felt the man firming against him once again. He found him so attractive? He had been certain the man was all tease and no real interest. His only last worry was that he was merely a conquest and nothing more to Stark. However, even if it were so, he was going to damn well enjoy this day.

Loki wrapped a leg up around Stark’s thigh, thrusting up against the man as the two of them kissed on and on. He dragged his good hand down Stark’s back, running short nails down his skin. Stark growled into the kisses and thrust harder against him. Loki cupped the man’s firm ass and dug his fingers into it. Stark broke the kiss with a gasp, groaning deep in his broad chest as he panted against Loki’s lips. He met the man’s deep brown eyes and shivered at the want he saw within them. He could feel Stark completely hard against him again.

“I… Oh Loki…” He sighed and thrust his hips again, looking at a loss for words for once. It was a little endearing to see Stark not certain how to start any of this.

Loki’s voice rang low and seductive as he purred, “Fuck me.” Stark’s jaw dropped open and he moaned just at the request. Loki’s voice rang as more of an order as he demanded in his silky tone, “Take me now, Anthony.”

“Yes sir,” Stark gasped against his lips. He shifted his weight up off of Loki and dove toward a nightstand. Loki dreamily watched the man with the arc in his chest and a beautiful cock standing upright all while he dug into a drawer for lubrication. This had to be a dream. Life was never so good to him. He shifted his position on the bed, resting a head on a pillow and rolling onto his stomach. He heard the other man grunt as he likely found the lube and then felt the bed shift as he slid up beside him. Loki turned his head to look at Stark and could not stop the adoring smile that formed on his lips. The man had the lube and looked a little lost how to start. He probably knew the mechanics; he just looked shy about where to start. “One finger at a time. Slowly. Get to three and then slick yourself down.”

It was Stark’s turn to shiver next to him at the simple commands. “Yes sir,” he sighed again and pressed the sweetest of kisses to Loki’s shoulder as he moved to cover him. He hoped his mortal form was rather like his usual one but he had reasons to believe it was so. If he had magic he could of course speed the process up but they were forced to do things by hand, literally.

Loki gasped as he felt Stark press soft, wet kisses across his shoulder and down his spine. The man stopped every inch or two to kiss him and that alone had Loki swooning. Stark shifted down and rested his body further down the bed, settling between Loki’s legs. He felt the kisses hit his lower back and he was certain the man would stop there and begin to stretch him but he did not. He continued, his firm hands going to Loki’s ass and spreading his cheeks apart.

“ _Anthony_ ,” he mewed as he felt the man’s tongue brush over that puckered skin between his cheeks. He had not told him to do that and it sent all new shivers through him to realize he had decided upon it all on his own. Stark teased a moment more with his mouth before he felt a slick finger push against him. “ _Yes_ ,” Loki gasped and rolled his hips back against the slowly stretching finger. He felt a bite to his right ass cheek as Stark gently pushed that finger into him completely. Loki growled happily and rolled his hips back again. He wanted him. He wanted him _now_.

Stark was far too gentle and yet it melted him so completely how slow he was with just a finger. He gently pushed in completely, then rubbed all along his walls, stretching and driving him mad. He finally had to gasp, “ _Another… Oh please…_ ”

Stark obeyed immediately, sliding out the one finger and pushing in with two. He felt another bite to his ass cheek and heard a moan from Stark as he pushed both in deep and began to stretch all the more along his walls. He felt kisses along his lower back as Stark started to thrust with those two fingers. “ _Yes! Another!_ ”

He heard Stark chuckle low and husky as he pulled out those two fingers and slid in three. It was tight. Loki hissed but he didn’t tell him to stop. He wanted _Anthony_ so badly. He rolled his hips back and helped guide his stretching, panting heavy against the pillow. This time Stark took the lead and slid his fingers out but Loki had no complaints on the time spent stretching him. He felt Stark move to cover him and his solid weight against his back as he rested a hand there and with the other guided himself in.

“ _Yes!_ ” Loki gasped as he felt the head and then the entire length of Stark’s cock fill him. There was a low, surprised moan from Stark. The man moved forward, covered his back, and slowly rolled them onto their sides. He felt Stark all down his back and deep inside. He felt the arc pressed against his spine. He felt Stark’s arm go around his chest possessively and wet kisses to his neck as the man rolled his hips, sending moans from Loki’s lips that he could not stop.

The kisses trailed up behind Loki’s ear and then Stark suckled on his earlobe before he asked in a low, husky voice, “Do I feel good, Loki?” He rolled his hips a little more intensely.

Loki shuddered in his arms, his good hand reaching to cover Stark’s on his chest. He answered in a breathless gasp, “ _Yes._ ”

“Tell me what you want,” Stark growled into his ear.

Loki gasped at the demand, his mind barely working enough to form true sentences, as Stark continued to roll his hips at a slow pace. “ _I want… I want you…_ ”

“How do you want me, Loki?” Stark demanded. His hand on Loki’s chest slid down his stomach to wrap firmly around Loki’s hard cock.

Loki opened his eyes and looked back at the man over his shoulder. How was he not so surprised that Stark was a fucking tease even here, like this? He met the man’s lust filled dark gaze as he answered, “ _I want you in every way._ ”

There was a flash of tenderness in Stark’s gaze and he stretched to kiss Loki’s lips. He started to thrust slowly into him. He moved his hand back up to wrap around Loki’s waist, holding him still as he took him at a slow, firm pace. The kisses were tender and never ending as Loki stayed twisted back to face Stark. It was overwhelmingly gentle as the pace stayed slow and the two of them built to a climax together. The heated rush to finish tempered into something more spectacular. Only as they neared the peak did Stark falter in his pace, breaking the kisses with ragged breaths. Loki met his gaze again and held it as he laid half twisted around to see Stark. The other man flashed nothing but want and need and tenderness in his eyes as they both gasped against each other’s lips. Stark drove forward, whining softly as he struggled not to climax first. Loki shook in his arms as he clung to the edge a moment longer. Then he came. He softly cried out as he spilled onto the bedding and squeezed around Stark’s cock. He closed his eyes and a moment later he felt Stark join him, filling him, groaning his pleasure. 

The two of them lay gasping in the bed as they came down. Stark too soon to pull out and Loki whined his complaint but the move did still their mutual trembling. Stark reached for him, turning Loki to face him completely, and merely pulled the man against his chest. He didn’t think Stark was usually prone to cuddling and he smiled to himself as he tucked his head under Stark’s scruffy chin.

He fell asleep curled up against Stark. His dreams were filled with a warm radiating glow of gold and red. Nothing could touch him.

*

The beeping was really starting to annoy Tony. He grunted and tightened his arms around Loki curled up against his side. He had rolled onto his back at some point and the lanky man had attached himself to Tony’s side, head still tucked under his chin. Even still half asleep, Tony’s hand slid down Loki’s back, cupping the man’s ass. The room beeped again and a voice sounded but he ignored it. Too happy. Whatever it was could go away.

The tint to the windows disappeared and bright late-afternoon sunlight streamed into the bedroom. Tony groaned and threw an arm up to cover his eyes underneath the crook of his elbow. “Jarvis whatever the hell it is-“

“Steve Rogers has climbed the perimeter gate and is attempting to gain entrance through the main door.”

“Oh god,” Tony groaned as he moved his hand to rub at his face. What the hell was he doing here? Tony’s head was not in the mood for company, much less _this particular_ company.

Jarvis stated with some irritation to his voice, “His attempts are not successful. He is growing agitated. I fear he will bash in the front door control panel.”

Tony groaned again and he felt Loki stir beside him. “Let him in. Tell him I’m coming down.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Tony snorted at the curt reply from Jarvis. The tint to the windows returned. Tony blinked his eyes a few times before they focused again in the softer light. He turned to look at Loki just waking up. The man must be in one hell of a happy sex coma. Tony beamed with pride at the thought. He pressed a kiss to Loki’s forehead and whispered softly, “You stay here, hm? Rest up for when I get back?” He squeezed Loki’s ass and got a happy, sleepy giggle from the man.

He pressed another kiss to the man’s forehead and slid away from him with a grunt, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Loki stretched out an arm toward him as he got up. “Where are you going?” he murmured, still looking half awake. Loki’s bangs fell forward over his face and he smiled coyly up at him from the bed.

Fuck the man was sex on two legs.

“We’ve got unexpected company. I’ll be right back, baby. Just let me get rid of them.”

Loki pouted from the bed as Tony tugged on a new pair of black sweatpants and a thin tank top that the arc’s light glowed through from behind. “I’d rather have you right here instead…” Loki purred, his outstretched hand brushing over Tony’s side of the bed.

“Oh sweet cheeks you have no idea how much I’d rather be there right now,” Tony hummed back at him, bending to steal a kiss from Loki as he tied the cord in his sweatpants. They parted with a smack of their lips and he promised, “Be right back.”

He could feel Loki’s gaze on him as he stepped out of the bedroom, a gaze not unlike an indignant cat upset over being left behind. Tony smiled and headed downstairs humming to himself.

“You look happy. Nice nap?” Steve instantly snapped at him the moment he spotted Tony. The man was in modern camouflage military attire, which was a little odd but somehow suited the living GI Joe.

Tony padded barefoot into the living room and brushed fingers through his hair in a hopeless attempt to try and fix it. “The fuckin’ best nap I’ve had in a long damn time,” he answered truthfully. He crossed the room and left Steve behind as he walked to the kitchen. He could hear the man’s heavy boots following after him. It was definitely time for lunch. Maybe something he could eat off Loki’s stomach… He opened the fridge and went digging for the frozen cheesecake in the back. He tossed it onto the counter to defrost some and looked through the various boxes of takeout food in his fridge for something still edible. He pulled out a box and opened it, inspecting the contents.

“Jarvis tried to wake you up for like ten minutes,” Steve accused, arms folded over his chest as he stood in the entryway to the kitchen. “I got a little worried.”

“How sweet,” Tony sighed and set the box aside, mentally marking it as a maybe, before he went to open another box. “Pepper call you? What the hell did you do, fly out on a sonic jet?”

“I was on base in San Diego.”

“Now there’s a winner of a vacation. Weren’t you going to hit some beach somewhere?”

“I got bored.”

“It’s called finding some company, old man. Flirt with a local girl for once and defrost that-“

“Where is he?” Steve cut him off.

“Upstairs.” He made a face at the box he’d opened and instantly turned to toss it into the trash behind him. That was a firm no go. He glanced to Steve as he turned back to the fridge. The man looked crestfallen. Tony paused and raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“He was upstairs with you?”

For a split second Tony weighed the possibility of lying to the man. He could hide this. They had separate bedrooms. Steve was merely jumping to obvious conclusions, since he probably saw their tossed aside clothes in the living room. Loki had it so bad for him he’d probably go along with the lie. Yet the thought was quickly tossed aside. If Loki was a woman he wouldn’t hide him, rough history or not. To hell with everyone else, they could think whatever they wanted.

The chain of thought took Tony just a moment before he nodded firmly, accepting the idea. He looked back to the fridge to grab another box of takeout, “He’s probably still pouting that I left him alone in the bed but Captain America himself decided to bust in on our sex coma so what ya gonna do?”

Steve’s jaw dropped open as he gaped at Tony’s blunt response.

Tony sniffed at the old pasta and seemed to remember he had it the night before last. It still smelled good. He decided on it and reached for a plate to reheat it. “Really Cap’n, you’re in the military, this shouldn’t come as such a big damn surprise.”

“You date women,” Steve said pointedly, before he rushed to add, “And usually not ones that tried to kill you a week ago.”

Tony barked a laugh at the comment and tossed the plate full of pasta into the sleek microwave to reheat. He looked back at Steve. “We’re workin’ through that and making some real progress. Did you know he’s really blue all over? Like a Smurf?”

Steve gave him the same blank expression Loki had given him at the pop culture reference. God could he get someone from his time period and/or planet to get his jokes? Steve shook his head, “Pepper said you’re looking after him? Mentoring him? Why didn’t you contact SHIELD when he first showed up here? How do you even know he’s really mortal? He could have escaped Thor and bewitched you.”

“Is that Pepper’s theory? I’m bewitched?” Tony snickered and leaned back against the counter, arms crossing his chest defensively as he took in Steve. “It started out as a little tough love and mentoring, ya. He’s got some issues. Clearly. But don’t we all? He’s been straight with me, discussions wise anyway.” He winked at Steve and the man paled some. Tony sighed and went on, “I didn’t contact SHIELD because I don’t trust them. What would they do to him? Lock him up somewhere nice and clean? Probably not. They’d work him over for information on the Chitauri and anything else they could get out of him. He’s here to learn humility and empathy and ya, I don’t see him learning anything but hate stuck in a shit hole like that. I’m not doing that to him.”

“No. Apparently you’d rather bed him.”

Tony couldn’t help a smile at the disgusted look on Steve’s face. “Don’t be jealous, grandpa.” The microwave chimed and he turned to retrieve the plate, not bothering to grab a fork as he took the boxed cheesecake in his other hand. “And as you can see I’m just fine and dandy so you can go back to doing pushups in San Diego, m’kay?”

“No,” Steve said firmly. Tony stopped in front of him blocking the way out of the kitchen. “He’s using you. He’s seducing you to keep him safe. Can’t you see that?” Tony rolled his eyes but Steve continued, “Let’s say you’re right and Thor sent him here and he’s really telling you all about his past and everything else. What happens when he gets his powers back? Huh? He’s gonna stay a meek little puppy dog doing whatever you ask still, is that it?”

“He’s really more like a kitten,” Tony started to joke but Steve narrowed his gaze on him. Tony sobered up as he answered, “We’ll cross that bridge when it happens.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Steve hissed at him.

Tony’s gaze turned hard as he stepped in closer to Steve and snapped, “Let’s just all remember that this is _my_ life and I can sleep with whoever I want to. Maybe things will go horribly fucking wrong when this is all said and done with but it’s _my call_ and you can just get the hell out of my house.”

Steve kept his gaze a long moment more before he backed away, stepping aside and letting Tony pass by with his food.

The sound of a helicopter reverberated through the house as it did a slow and low fly by. Tony came to a stop in the living room, glancing out of the large array of windows to his right. He could see the black chopper looping across the ocean to face his house again. “You motherfucking asshole,” he snarled. He turned around to forcefully throw the food at Steve just behind him. He leapt away from the man and called out. “Jarvis! Get Loki up and dressed for flight.”

“He is awake and dressing as we speak, sir.”

Tony rushed headlong down the stairs to his lab.

“Who do you think Pepper called, Tony?!” Steve shouted, following after him. “I was the closest agent to your house.”

“And like the good soldier boy you are, you did just like they asked and drilled me for info.” Tony got the door to his lab open with a shove but was too slow to slam the door shut behind him to lock out Steve.

The man plowed in after him, “They had to know how compromised you were and if you’d give him up willingly.”

“Fuck you, Steve. Fuck. You.” He reached for the Mark VII bracelets off his desk, getting one on before he ducked a punch from Steve and leapt from the super soldier. He caught a flash of movement just above them and rolled away as Dummy dropped his robotic arm down between them, his clamp swiftly reaching for Steve’s left arm in a move that surprised the man. Dummy hefted him up by the arm and dangled him just off the ground. Steve threw a swing toward the robot but missed as it swung him backwards.

Steve grunted and for the moment ignored the robot as he looked back to Tony and pleaded, “Just calm down and let SHIELD take care of it. He’s not worth all this!”

Tony slapped the other bracelet on and stood upright, glaring at Steve as he heard the suit rev up behind him. “You have no idea what he’s worth.” He set his jaw and snapped, “Deploy!”

The suit leapt forward, suiting him up in a matter of seconds as it estimated where his body was in relation to the bracelets he held at his sides. He took off the instant the visor flipped down and the suit booted up. He flew past Steve struggling with Dummy and up the flight ramp out of his house, then took a sharp turn to face the building. He meant to break through one of his windows to get to Loki and then take the man as far away from here as he could.

The helicopter had landed on his rooftop, the blades still spinning, but his gaze wasn’t on the would-be-swat-team trying to get into his house. His gaze was drawn to just above the chopper. A clearly _not human_ ship floated just above the oblivious men on his roof. It was reminiscent of a metallic reptile and the dark material of it stayed ominously black in the setting daylight. He’d seen something far larger when he’d pointed the nuke up the portal. The idiots had led the Chitauri straight to Loki.

“Fuck me,” he gasped and rushed headlong into the windows of his house, crashing through into the bedroom. He slammed into the far wall but rolled up onto his feet. Loki gaped at him. The man was in Loki’s old boots, a pair of black Stark branded sweatpants, and a dark leather jacket Tony recognized from his own closet. Good enough. He reached for the man and shouted through the helmet, “Time to go.” He wrapped an arm around him and took off back out of the hole he’d created coming in, making sure not to hit anything on the way out with Loki in his arm.

*

The wind whipped around them as they hurtled through the sky but Loki had time enough to look back over Stark’s shoulder to see both the SHIELD operatives rushing to get back into their helicopter and the far more terrifying Chitauri ship turning to give chase after them. He clung tighter with his arms around Stark’s neck as the wind whipped around them. What would they do? Where could they go? SHIELD likely knew where all of Stark’s holdings were but would they have agents at each of his buildings? What good would it do regardless, there was no good place to stand and fight.

He could just barely hear Stark arguing with what seemed like both Jarvis and SHIELD. He could only somewhat make out Stark’s comments but the tone shifted enough that Loki settled on those two parties. They looped low and took a sharp turn East into the hills. He had no fear of falling with Stark’s arm tightly around him. However the breakneck speed they were hurtling through the air was both dizzying and stunning in its force against his body. He should have found glasses or goggles of some sort. He spotted the Chitauri ship giving chase behind them and his stomach dropped as they appeared to be gaining on them. He ducked his head against Stark’s neck plate as they twirled between two ritzy homes and took another sharp turn, rushing headlong down and over a hill toward Los Angeles proper.

They dove low and dodged between buildings and streets in an attempt to lose the alien craft. It was larger than the two of them and took the corners less tightly. Finally it resorted to floating high over the cityscape to track them from above. “Hold on!” he heard Stark shout to him and then dove straight down into a subway station entrance tunnel. They flew past evening commuters and the tollbooth. They were a blur of movement as they rushed headlong over the crowd at the platform and hooked a left down one of the tunnels. It was a dangerous path directly over the subway tracks and perhaps straight into a train but it was brilliantly away from the Chitauri’s gaze. They could not track them here nor get to them without disembarking. They continued at breakneck speed as Stark seemed to be looking for something to their right.

It was a jarring turn as they nearly missed the doorway Stark was looking for and Loki’s legs went flying on down the tunnel as Stark spun around to make the turn. They went down a maintenance corridor and the enclosed space was suffocatingly close as they continued deep underneath the city. Pipes and control stations flew past them as they continued but he could feel their pace slowing some. Would they make their stand down here? Or was there somewhere they were going? A way out to lose the Chitauri?

They indeed took another turn and he could feel them moving upwards again toward the surface. He heard a blast and cast his gaze forward, spotting a blown open gate Stark has just taken out. Beyond it was sky and nothing more. Perhaps their cat and mouse game would work. Perhaps the Chitauri were too busy scanning for them and failing to find them long enough for them to slip away.

The exit before them went black and brick and steel collapsed forward as the Chitauri ship rammed down against the maintenance tunnel. Stark swore and turned back around, kicking his feet toward the ship as it collapsed the tunnel and shoved a docking bay into the space. Their momentum shifted and they started back down the way they’d come.

A metallic clank sounded as something hit and attached itself to the back of Stark’s suit. There was a blue flash that filled the tunnel with light for an instant. The Iron Man suit sputtered and the lights flickered alarmingly as they dropped. Stark rolled his body to hit the cement floor of the tunnel with his back, both arms going protectively around Loki as they crashed down and slid along the tunnel to a stop. His visor popped open just as the suit flickered and dimmed.

“Fuck!” Stark swore as he shifted to get up. “What did they hit me with?”

“I do not know. They had nothing which could do that previously.”

The docking bay of the ship opened in the mouth of the tunnel. Stark hefted the both of them onto their feet and turned to get them down the tunnel even if it was on their own two feet.

A shot rang from the Chitauri and a projectile hit the tunnel’s roof further ahead of Loki and Stark. The ceiling collapsed in. Dirt and brick rained down, forcing the two of them to stop as it barred their way.

“Pathetic,” came the deep voice of one of the Chitauri as they stalked out of the ship. Stark turned to face them and pushed Loki back behind him, putting himself between Loki and the five Chitauri that approached them. They were bigger and broader than the simple soldiers that had been Loki’s army. They were clearly high ranking officers with their more elaborate dress and facemasks. Their vaguely reptilian and scarred features were partially hidden behind the metallic masks.

Loki shook with memories of his time with the Chitauri. He was not ready to begin to deal with that part of his recent past. They had done much to persuade him to join them. He knew they would do far worse now that he had failed them.

Stark’s voice was positively cocky as he stalled, “That’s a nice trick shorting out the suit. Did you guys really find being blown up so annoying that you’d fixate on me? How sweet.”

Loki recalled the same tone from when he had confronted Stark a week ago. He did not take it as a positive sign. The man had very nearly gotten himself killed while stalling Loki.

“Your silly contraptions are not as complex as you might believe,” the Chitauri in the lead stated flatly as the group came to a stop in front of them a number of paces away. He leveled a weapon at Stark and demanded. “Move aside and stand down.”

“No can do, Godzilla. You’re not getting him.”

There was a grin on the Chitauri’s features as he snapped, “We will have him and we will have your blood for the lives you have taken from us.”

A blue projectile shot toward them but Stark dodged down out of the way, pulling Loki down with him.

The Chitauri moved forward again toward them. They held their fire. They wanted Loki alive, of that he was certain. They wished to torture him and a quick death was not in their plans for him. However he guessed they had no such plans for Stark. Loki stood and attempted to move around from behind Stark to protect him instead as he stated, “They won’t kill me; they wish to have me alive.”

“Death will not come to you until you’ve begged for the sweet release,” the Chitauri snarled.

Stark pulled himself up, not having it and stepping back around in front of Loki. “I gotta say with all the masks and the begging, you guys are into some kinky stuff. Ya know he begs much better when you treat him right.”

Loki blushed despite himself. The Chitauri sneered as they closed in, Stark hitting a ready stance with his fists up.

A blast came from behind them and the hole in the ceiling widened, light and fresh air coming in as Rogers and a team of SHIELD agents rushed down the rubble from the street above. Rogers was decked out in his usual attire, shield in hand now.

“About fucking time,” Stark snapped as Rogers came up to stand beside Stark, facing the agitated Chitauri. “Did you really have to stop to get changed?”

“I had some trouble getting your robot off me,” Rogers replied curtly back.

“I hope you didn’t hurt him, he’s an antique at this point.”

The Chitauri snarled and opened fire on the SHIELD team, sending them scrambling for cover. 

“We gotta get outta here!” Rogers shouted.

“And go where exactly?” Stark questioned. “You can take them, old man.”

Rogers cast a glance at Loki. The blond man looked irritated and thoroughly annoyed at the entire situation. He turned back to Stark. “I’m going to need some help.” Stark nodded and the two of them rushed forward into the midst of the Chitauri.

Loki loathed being so utterly helpless. SHIELD agents moved forward to surround Loki in a protective maneuver but the Chitauri swiftly fired on them, sending the agents scrambling for cover. Loki stood his own ground, knowing they would not shoot him. He watched as Rogers’ shield flew and knocked two Chitauri back, leaping at a third while Stark knocked another down with a headlong rush into him. The armor on Stark at the very least kept any hits from hurting the man too terribly but the battle was clearly in the Chitauri’s favor. More blows landed on Rogers and his shield was caught by a Chitauri and quickly tossed back toward their ship and out of Rogers’ reach. Three worked to pin down Rogers as one kept Stark’s attention. The one who had spoken stalked up to Loki, scattering the SHIELD agents around Loki once more with a round of projectiles launched at them as he approached.

“You are ours,” the Chitauri sneered, reaching to clamp his large hand around Loki’s throat. “It will be a pathetic weak end to your fate.”

A thunderous boom resonated from above, shaking the tunnel below. The Chitauri looked to the open ceiling above but could not dodge the hammer that flew into his chest, knocking him back into the fray and away from Loki.

“You do have a way of finding trouble, brother,” Thor boomed as he came to stand beside Loki.

Loki had not been so pleased to see his brother in ages. Thor raised his hammer preparing to join the fray but everything seemed to stop as Stark cried out in pain. Rogers was heaved out of the mass of Chitauri and landed with a thump before Thor and Loki, groaning as he rolled onto his back. His suit was ripped and ragged with claw marks. Another cry sounded from Stark as all five of the Chitauri surrounded him, heaving him up off the tunnel’s floor face down. Each had him by a limb in their firm grips, quite literally crushing the Iron Man suit in their grips. The tunnel went quiet except for the anguished cries that Stark couldn’t hold back and the sickening sound of metal caving in on itself as they continued to squeeze.

“ _Stop!_ ” shouted Loki in panic, taking a step toward the Chitauri. Thor reached to hold him back.

The Chitauri paused and Stark’s head slumped toward the ground in relief. The fifth member of the group stepped to grab Stark by the back of his helmet, jerking Stark’s head up and squeezing down on the metal. The Chitauri sneered at Loki, “You will come with us. Now.”

The helmet began to cave in but Stark cried out, “No, stay there, stay there!” Only to fall into a scream as the other Chitauri resumed caving in the metal around his limbs.

It was his nightmare come to life - each Chitauri ripping and pulling him apart. Only it was far worse. Stark had taken his place. His screams were gut wrenching. They cut to the very core of Loki’s soul. This was not happening. He would not allow it. He would not allow them to hurt Stark. He would not allow them to hurt _Anthony!_

Loki took another step forward and pushed past Thor’s protective grip. “You will let him go,” Loki demanded.

“Come with us and he may yet live,” the Chitauri bargained.

“You will release him _now_ ,” Loki snarled, dark command filling his voice as he took another step forward. He would not allow them to hurt Anthony. He would not allow this to pass. He would stop them. He would protect Anthony with every last inch of his being and to hell with any consequences. He marched forward, fists clenched and fuming at the wretched creatures that would dare to harm Anthony.

Something inside him gave way. In one committed step of selfless protection, he felt a rush of power surge back through him. An invisible wave of energy seemed to rush up his legs and torso, cascading over him. He gasped at the surge of power that filled him again. It was nearly overwhelming in difference. He was whole once more. He paused, looking down at his fingers as he opened and closed his hands into fists. He was himself again. He looked back to the Chitauri who seemed not to have noticed the change. They goaded Loki on as they returned to crushing the suit around Anthony’s limbs.

Loki smiled wickedly at the five of them and sneered, “You will learn to regret this day before you die.” He balled his fists and ice quickly formed around his hands, encasing them and swiftly forming two long shafts, each of which came to a keen sword’s edge. The ice encased his wrists and he heard the clatter of metal as the cast from his left hand snapped apart and fell to the ground, no longer needed. His skin turned blue and marked as he invoked his Jotunheim roots. He leapt at them with all his might, jumping the sizable distance between them before they could react, and sliced one in half instantly. They released Anthony and turned to face him but he was all protective fury and rage. He landed in their midst to crouch over Anthony in his crushed suit. He conjured up mirror images of himself surrounding the Chitauri, confusing them as to which was truly him. Then he struck at them with fierce vengeance. He moved in a blur and ducked any attempts to touch him. Each Chitauri fell before him as he effortlessly danced between them, using magic to knock back any who got too close. The last foul creature attempted to run but he would not have it. He heard Thor likely tell him to stop but he was in no mood for mercy. He leapt after the final Chitauri and landed solidly behind him, ramming his ice swords into the Chitauri’s spine and sending his frost into the creature’s body, freezing him from the inside out before he fell and shattered against the tunnel’s floor.

He turned to march back over to Anthony and glared at the SHIELD agents that leveled pitiful weapons on him. Rogers was on his feet again with clear concern and shock on his features. Thor appeared more curious than concerned. Loki ignored them all as he released the magic and the ice faded from his hands, his form returning to his usual Asgardian appearance. He knelt beside Anthony and he heard the man actually give a weak little chuckle.

“You really are blue,” he teased in a rough, hoarse voice.

“I told you it was so,” Loki soothed to Anthony, gently turning the man onto his back and running his hand along the metal horribly squeezing his savior. Anthony moaned at being moved and Loki could hear Thor and Rogers stepping toward them. He ignored both and focused on Anthony in front of him, knitting his brow as he worked out just the right spell to extricate Anthony. “Release,” he breathed and mentally pushed the armor off Anthony’s body with very well placed thrusts of air pushing the armor out away from Anthony’s body, finding weak spots and the built in hinges and unlocking them, breaking the armor into pieces. It all fell away from him with a metallic clank and Anthony gasped as the pressure on his head and limbs was released.

Loki reached to pull the chest piece and helm off Anthony, tossing both aside. Anthony groaned and admitted, “You might not move me just yet.” Then he smiled up at Loki and hummed, “You saved me. My big blue hero.”

Loki blushed just a little as he returned the adoring smile. “You are the true hero,” he sighed, and meant it. Anthony was and would always be a far greater man than he. “My hero.”

“Oh no, now you’re gonna go and get mushy on me,” Anthony teased him and Loki’s smile grew.

“Only just a little,” Loki promised and cupped Anthony’s cheek, taking the wounded man in. It was his fault. The Chitauri would never have hurt Anthony if he had not picked him as his exile. “I am sorry.”

Anthony returned the adoring look and whispered, “I’d go through far worse for you, baby.”

*

Tony felt like one ginormous bruise. It was as if someone had hit every inch of his arms and legs and the back of his head repeatedly with a soft-headed rubber mallet. Nothing felt broken, not yet anyway, but everything hurt from being squeezed to nearly breaking. Was this what it was like to be given a bear hug from Bruce when he was hulked out?

He slowly worked his fingers and toes, the muscles of his arms and legs complaining at the effort. He grunted at the spike in pain and Loki’s concerned gaze turned worried.

“You should lie still. Rogers can request medical assistance,” Loki insisted but Tony shook his head, not interested in letting some punk doctor from SHIELD poke at him. He instantly regretted the move as a headache throbbed to life. He paled and closed his eyes. “Please Anthony,” Loki begged softly. He felt the man’s other hand rest on his chest as he still had Tony’s cheek in his left hand.

Tony took a long moment before he opened his eyes again, the headache still prominent and overriding the pain from his limbs. He blinked up at Loki and then finally sighed, “You know I can’t say no when you beg.”

Loki’s worried look shifted into a smile of relief. “Thank you.” He bent and pressed the cutest little kiss to Tony’s forehead. Even back to himself, Loki was fucking adorable.

Tony hummed and teased, “See? One kiss and I’m all better.” He shifted to meet Loki’s gaze as he stayed near. Loki’s long hair fell forward and his eyes were magnificent even in the dim light of the tunnel. “I’m just a little sore. I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, kitten.” Tony shifted up the short distance to capture Loki’s lips in a kiss. Loki nearly purred as he returned it. The kiss was sadly short lived as Tony broke it a moment later to rest his head back down. Loki was just all one happy smile above him.

“So we are both prone to falling for mortal hearts,” Thor stated as he came up to them. Tony had only just glimpsed the demigod’s appearance before things took a turn for the worse for him but somehow he wasn’t surprised Thor was keeping close tabs on his brother. He wondered a moment where Steve was but he hurt too much to look around. Knowing the old prude, he was probably off blushing in a corner. Thor continued as he knelt to Tony’s other side and looked to Loki. “I can now understand your drive for vengeance against his assailants.” 

Loki sat back on his heels and straightened upright into a regal pose. He took in his brother with a look that held so many undertones. Tony had never before seen the man look at Thor with respect and understanding, and yet there was an undercurrent of pride in himself and a hint of daring Thor to tell him he was wrong for his choice in partners. The two men took one another in for a long moment before Loki spoke, “Thank you, brother.” His words were heartfelt and honest.

Thor smiled broadly and shook his head, “It was not my doing. You broke the spell and regained your powers by truly changing your heart and mind. It is not easy. I know it is a difficult road to travel but worth so very much once realized.”

“I never understood your transformation or your devotion to Jane,” Loki admitted. “It is… overwhelming…” Loki trailed off and Thor’s smile only grew at Loki. Loki’s expression melted Tony’s heart but he knew the man was still learning to deal with everything. It would take more than today to patch Loki up.

Tony grunted and broke in on the family bonding, “Oh god please don’t tell me we’ll be having Shakespeare in the Park every time he visits, will we?” He cocked a grin at Loki.

The man blinked and looked down to Tony, clearly not getting the reference but his attention dutifully returned to Tony. “You still require medical care,” Loki stated and moved to get up.

“No. Stay.” Tony reached for the man but groaned as his right arm instantly complained and rebelled at the idea. He dropped it back down immediately.

Loki cast him an adoring look and promised, “I will merely get Rogers and return.” He stepped away and Tony twisted his aching head back to watch Loki walk over to Steve who was inspecting something in the tunnel. Well at least he knew Loki could take care of himself just fine if SHIELD was stupid enough to try and capture him now.

“And you, Stark-” he heard Thor begin.

He closed his eyes and interrupted with a sighed, “Ya ya, the big brother talk. No cheating on him. No knocking him up. No hurting him or you’ll wring my neck. Yes sir. I promise sir.”

Thor gave a rumbling chuckle and countered, “No, I wished to thank you. I did not see the reasons for Loki’s choice of exile when he made it but he was right to pick you. Regardless of what transpires in the future, you have done him much good in the short time he was with you. He is… himself. I was not certain he would return from the abyss of his broken heart.”

Tony opened his eyes and took in the demigod kneeling beside him and thanking _him_ for all this. “Ya, well… He’s more special than he gives himself credit for. He still has a ways to go but I think he’ll get there.”

“With you at his side,” Thor prompted. Then he leveled a firm gaze at Tony. “And yes I would find you if you dared to abuse his trust in you. It would not be pleasant.”

“Noted,” Tony chuckled nervously and brushed off Thor’s firm gaze as best he could by changing the subject. “So how’s dear old dad gonna take the news?”

Thor’s look relaxed some as he allowed the conversation to shift, “He will be proud. He will wish to meet you but he is not well enough to travel as of yet.”

Odin had been ill? Tony raised an eyebrow at the comment but let that slip for now. He’d ask Loki later. “You’re gonna have to prep me for that conversation.”

Thor laughed. “He is not so intimidating.”

Tony snorted and knew that had to be a complete lie.

Loki came into his field of vision again and Tony turned his head to the man. Tony’s features lit up just to see him near again. Loki on the other hand seemed confused and a little guarded as he came to sit beside Tony, holding his old cast in his hands. It was split open down the seam and some of the bandages were ripped off from where the ice that had torn the cast off Loki’s arm. Circuitry was exposed and the dim light of a power source. “What is this?” Loki wondered, his tone guarded. Steve came to stand just behind Loki, taking Tony in. The boy scout must have been looking at it earlier when Loki went to speak to him.

Tony blushed some and met Loki’s gaze, shrugging his shoulders at the question. “I had to keep an eye on you. I didn’t know what was going on.” Loki still looked puzzled and he continued to explain, nodding to the cast, “There’s a GPS signal in it. How else do you think I found you in that alley the other night?”

“Do you ever build anything simple?” Steve wondered.

Loki looked down at the cast and stated softly, “I believe this is how the Chitauri tracked us underground.”

“Damn it,” Tony swore and winced at not thinking of the possibility. “I’m sorry. It was a rush job. I was busy worrying about the hurt ex-god that fell onto my roof.”

He could see the hint of a smile on Loki’s face and the tension faded from his shoulders. Tony made a mental note to always be as truthful with Loki as the man had become with him. He had a feeling fights with Loki would be one hell of a thing when they happened and he wasn’t about to give them reasons to argue.

Loki tossed the cast aside as the sound of an ambulance siren rang from the street above. He met Tony’s gaze. Tony ached to be able to pull the man close and reassure him that the added circuitry to his cast was not done out of malice, not even at the time. Loki seemed to read his thoughts and whispered, “It is forgotten.”

A gurney was brought down and Tony felt a little ridiculous but seeing as he couldn’t exactly move from his spot he gave into Loki’s demands for medical care. “I’m not going to SHIELD. I’ve got a doctor. We’re going there.”

He was hefted over onto the board and Loki shot protective glances at the medics as he followed them out, distrustful of their ability to carry Tony up the rubble to the waiting ambulance.

Steve came up beside Tony as Loki looked ready to slice open the medics while they jostled Tony into the ambulance. “You have fun keeping him from killing the nurses.”

“If they try and jab me with anything sharp and pointy, I might let him.”

*

This hospital was filled with incompetent drones. He trusted no one except perhaps Anthony’s regular physician. The staff seemed preoccupied and ridiculously undertrained. Anthony just brushed it off as them being nervous with Loki’s hovering around him, not to mention their entourage of SHIELD agents. Thor had stayed behind to inspect the Chitauri ship and attempt to find out if it had travelled to Earth since the portal’s closing or if it had somehow survived the battle last week. He knew Thor was also making certain that SHIELD did not get their hands on anything that mere humans were not yet ready to possess. Rogers was in another nearby room seeing to his own scrapes. Loki had banished the SHIELD agents that accompanied them to the corridor outside. He was not having them listening in on himself and Anthony their entire stay here.

A nurse returned to the room and Loki folded his arms across his chest as he stood beside Anthony’s bed. She flashed Loki an appraising glance and seemed to approve of his appearance as she gave him a flirtatious smile. Were all the nurses in this hospital so sexually frustrated that they felt the need to ogle him?

“There’s number seventeen.” Anthony had taken to counting how many members of the staff had taken notice of Loki since they’d arrived. “Seriously baby you could have ruled this planet without the army.” He chuckled and winked up at him. The nurse joined them as she walked up to the other side of the bed. Anthony grumbled, “When can I get the hell out of here?”

As much as he disliked the attention, he loathed even more the look in the nurse’s eyes when she turned her gaze to Anthony. Only with a supreme force of will did he not smite her right then and there for the way she smiled at Anthony. Would _everyone_ look at Anthony like that? He wanted to place a sign of some sort around Anthony’s neck that proclaimed he was taken, yet Anthony had only giggled and pulled him for a kiss when he’d said as much earlier.

“The doctor is still looking over your x-rays and tests. The trauma to your head was severe. We want to make certain everything’s fine.” She took in Anthony’s array of monitors. Loki couldn’t help wondering if she was only in the room to get a good look at himself and Anthony. It was clear Anthony’s readings had not changed.

Loki couldn’t help feeling subdued and rather tired of all the attention on the both of them. He wanted to get Anthony alone. He wanted to touch him and reassure himself that Anthony was whole. He wanted to know that nothing would change regardless of what happened today. Anthony was all flirtatious kisses and touches but did it mean Anthony felt all that Loki felt for him? He wished to be back to Anthony’s house as soon as the man’s wounds were seen to. He had questions and firm demands for Anthony.

A female voice rang from outside the room. Loki could hear SHIELD operatives dismissing her and her obviously ignoring the command. Who would demand entrance? The nurse frowned and walked her way back to the door. Loki tensed and readied himself against any would-be assailant. The nurse opened the door and Anthony groaned beside him as the sound of Pepper’s voice came clear and firm from the other side of their SHIELD guards.

“Let her in,” Anthony called and Loki cast a glance down at him. The urge to publicly claim Anthony as his only rose with Pepper’s presence.

The SHIELD agents moved aside and Pepper sighed in irritation, “ _Thank you_.”

She dismissed the nurse as well and shut the door behind her, leaving the three of them alone in the room. She slowly walked to the end of Anthony’s bed, her gaze taking them both in. Loki held his position and did not falter in returning her appraising gaze. He could not read her expression or her mood. Was she here simply to see Anthony because he was injured? It seemed unlikely as her gaze shifted to settle on Loki once she stopped at the end of Anthony’s bed. “Steve says you’re back to yourself.”

Loki was surprised she was speaking to him and not Anthony. He kept his guarded expression as he replied simply, “I am indeed.”

“He says it’s because of Tony.”

He wondered a moment how Rogers’ retelling of earlier went exactly. The man was still not overly fond of Loki. “I would not allow the Chitauri to harm Anthony. I moved to act despite my shortcomings as a mortal. With that protective response, I regained my former self and slew them all.”

Pepper took him in, her expression unreadable, before she finally said softly, “Thank you.”

Loki blinked at the grateful tone. The last thing he expected from Pepper was gratitude.

“As much as I am annoyed with the man in the bed beside you, I’m glad he’s still here to continue to be a pain in my life.”

“Hey!” Anthony complained beside him. Loki couldn’t help a little chuckle as he looked down at his feet, not certain how to respond to Pepper’s words.

“What? You’re gonna argue that you’re _not_ a giant pain in my ass?”

“Well…”

“Exactly,” Pepper snorted. Her expression shifted to apologetic as she went on, “I didn’t mean for SHIELD to storm your house or unwittingly point the Chitauri to Loki. I was worried. I thought maybe… maybe what happened to Clint was being worked on you.” Loki raised an eyebrow at the comment but he supposed it was not too farfetched a theory. “I didn’t realize… I didn’t do it to hurt you or him. I’m sorry.”

Anthony sighed from the bed and waved his hand in a dismissive motion, though it was weak since his limbs were still sore even with the painkillers. “You were worried about me. I knew that. I should have figured you’d go get some help no matter how much I’d pissed you off. It’s not your fault.”

Pepper took him in with all the monitors and sighed, “It’s a little bit my fault.”

“Well really only like fifteen percent your fault,” Anthony teased.

Pepper smiled some. “Ten percent. You’re the idiot that had to be a knight in shining armor and get yourself hurt.”

“No I think leading alien invaders to my house counts as fifteen percent responsibility.”

Pepper rolled her eyes and looked back to Loki. For a fleeting moment he saw the mix of emotions running through the woman. Distrust and hurt mixed with gratitude and acceptance. Then it shifted into a hard look as she stated flatly, “You hurt him and I’ll have Bruce use you as his personal punching bag.”

Loki raised both his eyebrows at the threat and he knew she quite meant it. “The beast will have no reason to quarrel with me.”

“Good,” she said and smiled, turning to leave. “I’ll be by in a few days to meet about the three new towers and the doubled budget for Potts Tower.”

“Doubled?” Anthony wondered.

“No arguing or I’ll tell him exactly where to tickle you to get you to giggle like a school girl.”

“May I bargain for that information myself?” Loki couldn’t help requesting.

Pepper cast a smile back at him as she opened the door out. “You gotta make it worth my while.”

“Doubled budget it is!” Anthony rushed to promise and Pepper skipped her way out of the room.

*

Fuck did he hate hospitals. It took another hour for the results to come back negative for any head trauma and for his doctor to prescribe a slew of relaxants and painkillers until his abused limbs stopped complaining so much. His legs weren’t up for the walk down to the car but he still felt ridiculous as he was pushed in a wheelchair down the hall to the elevator. Loki walked beside him.

They paused for the elevator and the male nurse clearly looked Loki up and down. “Twenty-eight,” Tony announced and earned an all-suffering sigh from Loki. It amused him just how much attention Loki earned himself. The counting was both a tease and a way to brush off everyone and their mom checking out Loki. It didn’t do any good to tell them all to fuck off and stop it. Honestly he couldn’t really blame them for taking a look anyway. He made a mental note to show him off sometime soon. There had to be a ball or charity event coming up. Los Angeles was full of them. Whatever it was they were definitely going dressed to kill. Once he could stand again. Minor details.

“I got it,” he heard Steve’s voice as the man dismissed the rather disappointed male nurse and moved to push Tony into the elevator as it arrived. The GI Joe was back in his camouflage from earlier.

“You’re still here?” Tony wondered as the three of them stepped into the elevator and Steve hit the button for the ground floor. Loki eyed Steve but stayed quiet, ever protective of Tony even with Steve.

“I, uh, I wanted to catch you before you left.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at the comment but went on to question, “I hear you told Pepper about earlier.”

Steve nodded and looked to Loki. “I wanted her to know how it went down.” He sighed and shifted on his feet some. He looked more unsure of himself than Tony had ever seen him. He knew the man was old fashioned but was this really bothering him that much? He let Steve collect himself, staying quiet and taking the man in. Finally Steve stated, “I’m not sorry I came to check on you. I would hope you’d answer the call to check on me if I was seen harboring the enemy.”

Tony shook his head at the last line but still answered, “He wasn’t a threat even before things moved away from platonic with me and him.” Loki smiled some and looked down. “But ya, I know, Cap. I know why you showed up and I’m glad you cared enough to come check on things.”

Steve’s gaze flicked up to Loki and then back to Tony. It was clear the man would rather have Loki gone from Tony’s side for this conversation but it wasn’t happening, and not just because they were currently stuck in an enclosed elevator. Steve finally sighed and said with soft admiration in his voice, “You should have seen how he took them all down. It was like a dance. None of them stood a chance.”

Tony cocked a smile at the memory of it and admitted, “I saw a lot of it. He was breathtaking.”

Loki reached to squeeze his shoulder lightly.

“I saw how he was going to attack them even before he was back to himself,” Steve stated. “He was livid. I almost believed he could rip them apart even as a mortal. He was _that_ upset.” Steve sighed and shifted his gaze to Loki. “I don’t know if leopards can really change their spots so quickly. If I hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t believe it. But I did see it. You did good today.”

Tony looked up at Loki. The man blinked at Steve but nodded, accepting the praise. “I promise no harm will come to Anthony.”

Steve straightened as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. “I hope not. You’ve got a long ways to go earning any kind of trust. But as of right now, you’re not my enemy.”

Loki cast an appraising gaze onto Steve. “Then you are not mine.”

Of course Steve would feel the need to formally announce this to Loki. He pushed Tony out of the elevator and the three of them headed for the exit.

“So when you dropping by our neighborhood again, Mister Rogers?” Tony joked to shift the mood, though neither man with him got the play on Steve’s name. “You gotta take some time off from watching sweaty army men and come by for some drinks.”

He heard Steve chuckle behind him. “I’d like that.”

Tony’s mood lightened all the more as he spotted his assistant Hogan and one of his cars waiting for them at the curb with a Burger King bag in his hands.

“Oh my god, I love you,” Tony proclaimed, reaching tired hands toward the bag as Hogan handed it over. He dove for the burgers, pulling one out and instantly unwrapping it. He stuffed his mouth with the delicious beef and looked up at Hogan taking in Loki. He spoke with a mouthful of burger, “Hogan, meet Loki sexy demigod of Asgard. Don’t piss him off. Loki, meet the best fucking driver ever, Harold Hogan.” He took another bite and announced, “Loki’s staying with me. We need beer and my bed. Immediately.”

Loki blushed a nice shade of pink as Steve cleared his throat. “I am pleased to meet you,” Loki said as he offered a hand to Hogan. The man looked at the hand like it might bite him before he carefully reached to shake Loki’s hand.

Tony moved to stand and Loki rushed to help him into the car. Tony glanced back at Steve and demanded, “Drinks. Later. Don’t flake out of me, old man.”

Steve cocked a grin at him and nodded. Tony slid into the car limo with a grunt and pulled himself across the bench seat so Loki could join him. He reached up and instantly turned on the tunes as Hogan shut the tinted door after them and came around the car to the driver’s seat. Rock music filled the car at the perfect intense level. Loki raised an eyebrow at him but he merely offered the man a bite of his burger as he slid up against Loki. The man’s stunning eyes met his and damn he could swoon himself at the intense look in his eyes. Loki ignored the burger and kissed him. Oh ya, that was definitely the better option. He set the burgers aside and deepened the kiss as he felt the car pull away with them.

*

Anthony had immediately removed his leather jacket but otherwise the two restrained themselves to deep, hungry kisses. He twisted Anthony’s top in his fingers and ached to remove it. He wanted to prove to himself that Anthony was whole and sound and still lusted for him after this intense day. He needed the reassurance. He wanted to know that he did not have to be weak in order to appeal to Anthony. The kisses certainly soothed those worries as the man drove him mad with merely his lips and tongue.

They only broke for air as they pulled into Anthony’s home, the two of them a panting mess as Hogan rolled his eyes and got out of the vehicle to open their door for them. “Gonna need some help, sugar lips,” Anthony teased him and Loki grinned as he slid out first and easily helped Anthony out of the car. He effortlessly took Anthony in his arms, picking him up, one arm around his back and the other under his thighs. Anthony giggled the most adorable laugh at being picked up. “My hero!” He looked to Hogan and dismissed him. “I’ll call ya later. Send my thanks to Pepper.”

“Don’t hurt yourself again,” Hogan warned, eyeing Loki.

“He is in competent hands,” Loki assured, taking slight at the comment. He effortlessly carried Anthony into the house.

“Good evening, sir,” came Jarvis’ voice as they came through the living room. “I am pleased to see you’ve returned in one piece.”

“Of course, never better.” Anthony wrapped his arms around Loki’s neck and kissed him. Loki’s steps faltered a moment as Anthony dipped his tongue between his lips and flicked it up against the roof of his mouth. This man would be his utter undoing.

“Might I suggest Loki’s room, sir? Yours is still rather… untidy.”

Anthony chuckled against his lips as Loki took the stairs up to the bedrooms. The kiss broke as a chime sounded. Loki had no idea why it made Anthony grumble but he guessed the reason as he snapped, “I’m not interested in talking to anyone right now, Jarvis.”

There was a pause as Loki made their way into his bedroom, then Jarvis announced, “I’m sorry sir, it’s Nick Fury on the line.”

“Definitely not talking to him,” Anthony growled as Loki took them to the bed and set him down. Anthony reached for him, pulling him on top of him and onto the bed.

“He seems to have acquired Phil’s touch for overriding my protocols.” 

“Fuck I’ve gotta update those,” Anthony sighed.

Loki toed off his own shoes and did not still in his kisses to Anthony’s neck as the distinct sound of SHIELD’s director came on over the intercom. “I hear you’ve been having some fun over there in LA, Stark.”

“I’d be havin’ more fun if you’d leave me the hell alone,” he sighed in return, arching up against Loki and sucking in a breath as Loki nipped at his skin.

Loki shifted upright and ran his hands over Anthony’s chest possessively as he straddled the man’s hips. He adored the look in Anthony’s eyes as he lusted for him. They would have to be slow and careful but Loki was fine with both.

Fury’s voice countered, “I don’t take kindly to being left in the dark, Tony.”

Loki slowly slid his hands back up Anthony’s chest, gently pulling the fabric up his chest. Anthony kept Loki’s gaze as he answered Fury, “You have your little secrets. I have my own.”

“We need to speak with him,” Fury demanded.

Loki bent to press kisses up Anthony’s bruised and battered stomach, moving his way up his chest.

“Oh he is _really_ busy right now,” Anthony hummed in response.

“Don’t get cute with me, Stark.” Fury’s tone shifted toward demanding. “You will bring him in for questioning.”

Loki slid off Anthony’s top and tossed it behind himself. He bent to kiss Anthony deep on the lips, letting it linger on, making Fury wait, before he ended it with a wet smack. Anthony groaned softly against his lips.

“Stark!”

“Ya, you kinky bastard?” Anthony panted.

There was a noise of disgust from Fury. Loki would enjoy teasing Fury more in the future but right now he was rather tired of the distraction. Loki smoothly spoke up, his voice silken and sultry, “I will be pleased to answer your questions, Mister Fury, at a later date.” Loki ran his hands over Anthony’s bruised arms. “I am currently working on soothing Anthony’s battle wounds. Please do speak with Pepper Potts to arrange a later day for my questioning.”

“Loki! This cannot wait. You must-”

“Oh but it can…” Loki sighed and Fury’s voice faded as Loki disrupted the cell phone signal, ending the call.

“I would rather like to know that trick,” Jarvis commented.

“No more calls, Jarvis,” Anthony growled and pulled Loki down on top of him.

*

The painkillers were taking the edge off but his limbs still ached as he tugged Loki’s top off, tossing it aside. Loki bent to kiss him again, rolling his hips down against Tony’s, and all Tony could do was moan and weakly rub back up against him. Loki broke the kiss and met his gaze, lust and adoration in his gorgeous eyes. “Lie back and allow me, darling,” Loki soothed against his lips.

Tony’s heart skipped and he literally shivered at Loki’s first use of a pet name for him. Oh god yes he liked that a lot. Loki gracefully moved up and slid off his sweatpants, grinning down at Tony as he stripped him as well. He paused just above Tony and his gaze roamed his body, taking note of any particularly colorful bruise that was forming on his skin. He shifted to press the lightest of kisses to Tony’s bruises. He moved from one on his lower right arm to his bicep, then over to his left arm. Tony sighed and closed his eyes at the treatment. He knew Loki regretted each and every one of them but it still melted him to see Loki attempting to kiss them all away. He sighed as Loki shifted down the bed and kissed his right hip before giving his legs the same treatment.

The man spread his thighs gently and kissed down his outer legs, moving back and forth from leg to leg as he kissed bruises, then made his way back up Tony’s inner thighs, brushing a smooth, beautiful cheek against his thigh. He felt the man’s tongue unexpectedly on his balls, earning a deep moan from Tony long before Loki wrapped his mouth around a ball and suckled. “ _Shit_ ,” he gasped and spread his thighs a little further apart. Loki’s mouth moved to suckle his other ball and his tongue darted out to lick back behind his balls. There was something all the more intoxicating to have Loki here with him, touching him, teasing him, when the man could just as easily leave and do as he wished. He was not forced to stay here with him any longer yet he did stay. He wanted him.

Loki’s mouth released his balls and he moved to press wet, sucking kisses up along Tony’s cock. He looked down to see strands of dark hair covering Loki’s face as he swirled his tongue around the head of his cock. Tony moaned low and reached a hand out, weakly brushing back his bangs and twisting his hair. Loki looked up at him, the possessive glint in his eyes sending a shiver through Tony.

“This is mine,” Loki commanded, his voice as smooth as honey. He licked his tongue over the head of Tony’s cock again.

“ _Oh fuck yes definitely yours_ ,” Tony gasped, tugging on Loki’s hair.

The possessive look shifted into something softer as he sighed, “I will not share you.” There was a hint of concern in his voice. He was no fool. He had to know Tony’s past.

Tony met his eyes with honesty of his own as he whispered, “You won’t ever have to.”

“You swear it?” Loki asked with the honest, open look Tony had come to adore.

“I swear on everything I am, Loki. I am only yours.” Loki’s smile was like a beacon of happiness. Christ, he could get addicted to makin’ this man smile like that. He tugged on Loki’s hair and murmured, “Come back up here…”

Loki dutifully slid up his body, covering him and letting Tony pull him for a deep, adoring kiss. With a god as your partner, who needed to sleep with anything else? Loki shifted and pressed his firm cock against Tony’s, one of his hands going to wrap strong, long fingers around both their cocks. Loki stroked the both of them and Tony moaned into the kisses, rolling his hips up against Loki’s touch. The man was just fucking intoxicating in every goddamn last way.

Tony broke the kisses with a gasp and nipped lightly at Loki’s smooth chin. “ _We need lube. Now._ ”

Loki chuckled low and husky against his chest and murmured, “Oh never worry over that again, darling.”

A moment later and Loki’s hand released his own cock, taking just Tony’s. His next stroke up was slick and wet. Tony’s jaw dropped open as he looked down to find Loki had conjured lube onto his hands and was swiftly slicking Tony down with a coy grin.

“ _Oh god_ ,” Tony gasped knowingly and Loki’s grin widened.

“At your service,” Loki purred and shifted, moving up Tony to straddle his hips again. He lowered himself down onto Tony’s cock.

“ _Wait, don’t you need to, oooh shit_ ,” Tony devolved into a groan as Loki took him without stretching. The stunning man above him tossed his head back in a low moan, hands pressed to Tony’s chest at either side of his arc, back arched as he pushed down completely to rest his cute little ass against Tony’s hips.

Okay ya, that was now his favorite fucking thing about dating a god. Was there really never going to have to be time spent stretching the man again? And fuck he could swear he was even tighter than last time.

Loki trembled delicately above him as he slowly collected himself before he began to roll his hips, grinding Tony’s cock inside of him. He opened his eyes and looked down at Tony, his bangs falling forward. He smiled an adorably teasing smile and bit his lower lip, digging his short finger nails into Tony’s chest.

“ _Loki_ ,” Tony gasped and rolled his hips slowly in time with Loki’s pace. He reached up and pulled the man down closer, wanting his weight on top of him. Loki pressed his flat chest against Tony’s and kissed him in a slow, wet kiss.

Tony’s arm went around him. He wrapped them possessively around his upper back, clinging to the other side of Loki. His other hand moved to help rock Loki’s hips, gripping his left hip firmly as the man moved against him. He could feel Loki’s hard cock pressed against his own stomach, pinned between them. The whole feel of Loki pressed against him was different in all the right ways. Hell, Loki was different than anyone before him, in all the right ways, and not just because of the male body pressed against him.

The kiss broke as the two of them gasped for breath. Loki rested his forehead against Tony’s and their eyes locked. Loki’s magnificent eyes flashed with passion and lust, adoration and trust. He swore he could see right inside of Loki. This man was his and he could see just how intertwined their hearts had become with one look into Loki’s eyes. He would sacrifice anything to keep this man safe. And he knew without a doubt in his mind that Loki would do the same for him. He had only to remember his sacrifice mere hours ago.

Tony wasn’t one to say anything on a whim. He joked, he teased, but when he meant it, he meant it. His mouth worked against Loki’s as he felt the words rarely uttered form on his lips. He was Loki’s and there was no reason not to say them. Because he felt them. Oh did he feel those three little words. More than ever before in his life.

“ _I love you_ ,” he mouthed more than spoke the words to Loki.

Loki seemed to melt on top of him, a surprised gasp his first response. Then Loki’s gaze filled with utter devotion as he whispered back, “ _I love you._ ”

Tony tightened his hold around Loki’s upper back and kissed him with all the passion he could pour into it. He moved them into short little bounces, thrusting up against Loki’s rolling hips. The two of them built together. Loki eventually ended the kiss with a whimper, his trembling stilted moans filling Tony’s ears as he closed his eyes. Loki had the prettiest long lashes against his pale flushed skin. Tony moaned his name over and over again as the two of them clung to one another. Only as Loki came did Tony close his own eyes, jaw dropping open as the man went tight around his cock while he felt Loki’s cock pulse and his seed cover Tony’s stomach. His hips jerked and his body shook in Tony’s tight hold on him. He loved that he could get Loki to come so hard every time. His own climax quickly rushed over him. He thrust in deep and kept his cock buried inside of Loki as he came, giving a strangled cry as it washed over him.

They melted into one tangled mess as they came down. Tony stayed inside of him as long as he could stand it but his sensitized cock was making his trembling go on and on still buried inside of Loki. He pulled out and felt himself finally come down. Loki whined in protest and Tony pecked his lips. Loki positively purred with happiness at the move and shifted his weight off Tony, sliding onto his side beside him, and tucked his head under Tony’s chin as he had the last time. The two of them lay panting and content together. Loki nuzzled against his neck.

Oh ya. Loki was definitely a kitten.

*

The remainder of the evening and the following day was spent in bed. Loki demanded it as Anthony recovered and regained his strength. Of course, that did not stop him from having his way with Anthony, but there was hardly a force in all the realms that could have stopped them from that activity. The day after that Pepper sent in a work crew to clean up Anthony’s bedroom and rebuild his windows. With people in the house, he and Anthony had to at least dress and attempt to see to business. Anthony was still stiff in his movements but overall he was doing far better, able to get up and around on his own. They spent most of the afternoon downstairs in his lab. Loki enjoyed merely watching Anthony work. The man fixed up his robot Dummy and then set about tinkering with some new contraption. Loki adored the way Anthony’s mind worked. The man would be a genius on any realm, he was certain of it. Only when half the day was gone did he bother to begin answering the questionnaire Pepper had sent along from Fury and SHIELD as prep for their meetings in the following days. Most inquires were deemed too unimportant to answer seriously and many of his answers were merely musings on Anthony’s heroic actions and perfect smile. They were both quite important details.

Only as the afternoon waxed into evening did the work on Anthony’s room cease. They saw the crew out and Anthony insisted on cooking omelets for dinner. Loki raised his eyebrow at Anthony’s sudden decision to cook but he was shooed out of the kitchen while Anthony ‘worked his magic’. Left alone, Loki wandered the home, still not having seen each room. He found himself out on the balcony as the sun disappeared over the horizon, already out of sight, but its bright rays fanned out over the water and faded into orange and purple. This planet was so very different from Asgard and yet he felt at home here. He had no wish to spirit Anthony away to Asgard. He was content here. He would have to find something to do with himself but in all honesty he wished nothing more than to spend the foreseeable future at Anthony’s side.

He sat on a large lounge chair and folded his legs up underneath himself, watching the sky turn darker and the yellows mellow into oranges and then into blues.

He could feel the difference inside himself. He was calmer. He was more certain of his life. He knew no matter the twists of fate, he had Anthony to weather them with. He would prove his father wrong. He would make something of himself not out of spite or to get his attention. No he would do as his heart deemed right for no one but himself. He would not dwell on the past. He would embrace his future. He would embrace himself.

He heard Anthony’s footsteps and looked as the man joined him, pride on his face as he set a rather ragged looking omelet on a plate down onto the small table beside Loki, along with a glass of juice. “For you.”

“Thank you,” Loki smiled up at him and reached to pull the man down onto the lounge chair with him. Anthony happily bounced down beside him and pulled out one of his display devises, tapping the screen and moving his hand up. The blue outlined sketch of a hovercraft of some description floated up above the screen in a 3D model. “So? What do you think?”

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “It is rather like the Chitauri personal vehicles from the invasion.”

“Exactly. Only it’s got my rocket boosters in it so it can actually take corners.” He spun the model and it formed a skin over the sketched exoskeleton, a green and black paintjob with gold highlights covering it as it slowed to a stop. “I thought maybe you’d like to not be carried everywhere. In case, ya know, Nick Fury has more of a brain than I think he does and recruits you.”

Loki melted instantly at the details to the color scheme but he was mystified by the entire conversation. “Recruits… me?”

“Well ya. I’m not really goin’ anywhere without you so he might as well make it official. Why do you think he wants so bad to talk to you anyway?”

“I thought… to make certain of my intensions on Midgard?”

Anthony shrugged, “Ya sure that’s the official reason but he’d be stupid not to want you on his speed dial too.” He spun the model again and pouted just a little at Loki, “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s marvelous,” Loki sighed appreciatively, clear surprise and wonder in his voice. Anthony beamed with pride that he did not bother to cover up and Loki giggled, pressing a kiss to the man’s cheek. “Thank you. I cannot wait to see it completed. The colors are fantastic.” He paused a moment, thinking back to their quick flight across Los Angeles, and then added, “I may need goggles.”

Anthony snickered and pressed his own kiss to Loki’s cheek. Loki reached to take the devise away from Anthony, setting it aside. “Watch the sunset with me, darling.” He picked up the plate of food and snuggled back up against Anthony’s side. He tried some of the omelet and even though it was rather unpretty it was delicious.

He felt a kiss to his neck as Anthony’s arms went around his waist. “I’d rather watch you, baby.”

Loki met his gaze and found himself instantly lost in Anthony’s deep brown eyes. They held the world for him. They held his future.

Through so many disappointments. Through so many upheavals in his life. Through so many callous words and abusive actions. Through so much strife and hurt.

He had finally found home.

 

**THE END**


End file.
